
FISH 

CULTURE 




Class c, r Z\ . 

Book \Vc 

Copyright)) 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE FARMER'S PRACTICAL LIBRARY 

EDITED BY ERNEST INGERSOL 



FISH CULTURE 

BY 

WILLIAM E. MEEHAN 



The Farmer's Practical Library 

EDITED BY ERNEST INGERSOLL 
Cloth i6mo Illustrated 

From Kitchen to Garret. By Virginia 

Terhune Van de Water. 
Neighborhood Entertainments. By Renee 

B. Stern, of the Congressional Library. 

Home Waterworks. By Carleton J. 

Lynde, Professor of Physics in Mac- 

donald College, Quebec. 
Animal Competitors. By Ernest Ingersoix. 
Health on the Farm. By Dr. H. F. 

Harris, Secretary Georgia State Board 

of Health. 
Co-operation Among Farmers. By John 

Lee Coulter. 
Roads, Paths and Bridges. By L. W. 

Page, Chief of the Office of Public 

Roads, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

Poems of Country Life. By George 
S. Bryan. 

Electricity for the Farm and Home. By 
Frank Koester. 

Fish Culture in Ponds and Other Inland 
Waters. By William E. Meehan, 
Supt. Public Aquarium, Philadelphia. 

Village Improvement. By Parris T. 
Farwell. In preparation. 

The Satisfactions of Country Life. By 
Dr. James W. Robertson, Principal of 
Macdonald College, Quebec. In prep- 
aration. 

The Farm Mechanic. By L. W. Chase, 
Professor of Farm Mechanics in the 
University of Nebraska. In prepara- 
tion. 




THE HON. WILLIAM E. MEEHAN. 



FISH CULTURE 

IN PONDS 
AND OTHER INLAND WATERS 



BY 



WILLIAM E. MEEHAN 

Formerly Fish Commissioner of Pennsylvania, Superintendent 
Public Aquarium, Philadelphia 



ILLUSTRATED 



mew lotft 

STURGIS & WALTON 

COMPANY 

1913 



> 



* 



^ 



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COPYBIQHT, 1918, BY 

STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY 



Set up and clectrotyped. Published June, 1918 



©O.A35815& 
*-0/ 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Pond-Culture of Black Bass ...... 3 

II Spawning of Black Bass and Cabe of Fbt . . 24 

III Rock-Bass, Calico-Bass, and Sun-Fishes . . 49 

IV Cat-Fish Culture 59 

V Carp Culture 70 

VI Water for Trout Culture 86 

VII Trout Ponds and How to Build Them ... 93 

VIII Construction of a Trout-Hatchery . . . .111 

IX Taking and Fertilising Trout Eggs . . . .126 

X Trout Hatching, and Care of Fry 138 

XI Rearing Young Trout 160 

XII The Atlantic Salmon ....... , ; ... . 174 

XIII Hatching Fishes' Eggs in Jabs . . ... .. . 178 

XIV Culture of the Yellow Perch 188 

XV Rearing Pickerel and Muscallonge .... 200 

XVT White Perch, Striped Bass, Smelts and Suck- 
ers 207 

XVII Frog Culture 219 

XVTII Making and Managing an Aquarium . . . 234 

XIX The Culture and Cure of Goldfish .... 252 

Index . 285 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Portrait of the Author Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

Breeding-Ponds for Black Bass or Sun-fish 8 

An Ideal Pond for Brood-Bass 8 

Bass Hatchery at Mill Creek, Mich., Showing Retaining 

Wall to Prevent Flooding 12 

Large-mouthed Black Bass (Micropterus salmoides) . . 24 
Small-mouthed Black Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) . . 24 . 

Cribs Surrounding Bass Nests 42 

Pond for Calico, or Grass, Bass, at Linlithgo, N. Y. . . 48 
The Pumpkin-Seed or Sun-fish (Lepomis gibbosus) . . 54 

The Long-Eared Sun-fish (Lepomis auritus) 54 

The Calico, Grass, Bass (Pomoxys sparoides) . ... 56 

The Rock-Bass (Ambloplites rupestris) 56 

Yellow Cat-fish (Leptops olivaris) 60 

Common Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) 60 

Methods of Shading Trout Ponds 96 

Intake from a Trout Pond 104 

A Dam and Covered Raceway .......... 104 

A Trout Hatching- trough 116 

Feeding Mature Trout 116 

Chain-Pickerel, in an Aquarium 200 

Striped Bass (Roccus lineatus) 214 

Common, or White, Sucker (Catostomus teres) . . . .214 



FISH CULTURE 



FISH CULTURE 

CHAPTER I 
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 

When the propagation of bass was first un- 
dertaken in the United States, it was speedily 
discovered that it is impossible to express eggs 
and milt artificially from the ripe female and 
male. The handling of ripe bass produces a 
nervous condition which prevents their eject- 
ment, and affects even a fish taken from the 
nest in the act of spawning. Fish-culturists 
were then driven to resort to pond-culture ; that 
is, to prepare bodies of water in which the fish 
might naturally spawn and hatch their young. 

Temperature and Volume of Water. — As 
bass naturally inhabit warmer waters than 
trout, it follows that water for a bass-cultural 
plant in the Northern States must not be 
directly from a spring or be of low temperature. 



4 FISH CULTUEE 

Biver, stream or lake water, which during the 
spawning season will not fall below 55 degrees, 
preferably below 60 degrees, and only becomes 
muddy after exceptionally heavy storms, and 
then for a short time only, is necessary. Dur- 
ing the breeding season, higher temperatures 
than those named, and water perpetually clean, 
are very much to be desired. At 50 degrees 
the fish will not spawn; and at 45 degrees both 
eggs and fry will die. 

A great volume of water is unnecessary, al- 
though desirable, since it insures one against 
any fear of a shortage in drought. Under 
ordinary circumstances 500 gallons of water a 
minute will be ample to operate a very large 
plant, but, whatever the volume, it is of the 
utmost importance that it be under complete 
control. A fish-culturist who cannot regulate 
his water-supply is likely to lose two-thirds of 
his chances for successful work. 

Water that becomes roily through storms is 
not objectionable, provided the roiling is not 
continued too long or is of too frequent occur- 
rence, especially while the nests contain eggs. 
For a short time muddy water has no percept- 



POND-CULTUBE OF BLACK BASS . 5 

ible effect on fry, or advanced fry, and is bene T 
ficial to mature fish. 

As a rule the best water for both kinds of 
bass is from a stream draining a lake. It is 
even more desirable when taken directly from 
the lake itself, because it is better aerated and 
probably contains more plankton, or minute 
surface forms of animal life which are essen- 
tial as food for advanced fry and young bass', 
and which are taken unconsciously by the large 
fish. Next to water flowing from a lake is 
stream water which is not too frequently spring 
fed ; and after this in value is river water. 

'Choice of Site. — Three conditions are neces- 
sary as a basis for successful cultivation of 
small-mouthed bass ; a favourable site, properly 
constructed ponds, and suitable water. Nearly 
all other problems which may and will arise 
are either subordinate or sequences. 

"When seeking a suitable site for bass-ponds, 
a decided pitch in the ground is not vital, as it 
is only necessary to have sufficient for complete 
drainage. A relatively large area of ground 
is required if many thousand young fish are to 
be fed, say at least 25 acres. A pond of half 



6 FISH CULTUEE 

or three quarters of an acre cannot tie expected 
to yield more than 100,000 young fish, even with 
a suitable number of accompanying fry-ponds : 
indeed, not more than 50,000 or 60,000 could 
ordinarily be expected. 

Character of the Bottom. — When the small- 
mouthed bass seeks a site for a nest it al- 
most invariably selects a gravelly or rocky bot- 
tom; but this is about the last selection the ex- 
perienced bass-culturist will make for his pond. 
His first choice would probably be a heavy clay 
through which water cannot percolate, or a spot 
where the bottom can be made water-tight by 
puddling it with clay. A stony or gravelly 
bottom is not desirable, at least for breeding- 
ponds, because the fish-culturist cannot have 
absolute control over his brood-fish, as it would 
be impossible to force them to use artificial 
nests. Mucky ground for smallmouth-breed- 
ing should be avoided, because in moving about 
the fish are apt to keep the water muddy, thus 
preventing frequent observation, — a very im- 
portant feature in bass-culture. Swamp-land 
is worthy of very favourable consideration, be- 
cause, while the surface is apt to be wet and 



POND-CULTTJEE OF BLACK BASS 7 

soggy, the underlying material is likely to be 
clay or heavy loam, impervious to seepage. On 
the size and character of the gravelly spots or 
muck-holes in it must rest the availability of 
such property for the purposes of bass-ponds. 
A pond cannot be built over a muck-hole of any 
considerable depth. 

Dams and Reservoirs. — A wise man will not 
build a pond for breeding bass by throwing a 1 
dam across the stream which supplies the 
water for his establishment. There are cogent 
reasons for not using the bed of a stream for 
such a purpose, among which are the fact that 
the water-supply is beyond the owner's con- 
trol, and in case of heavy rains he stands a 
good chance of losing his entire stock. Not 
having entire control of the supply, the fish- 
culturist would also be at the mercy of varying 
conditions of water-temperature. Further- 
more, mud is almost certain to gather in the 
bottoms, and there is danger of eggs being 
smothered by it. 

All ponds for a bass-cultural plant should 
therefore be built to the right or left of the 
supplying stream, and the water let into them 



8 FISH CULTUEE 

by pipe or sluice, arranged as is recommended 
hereafter. 

The first work to be done is to make such 
arrangements as will insure the easy flowing of 
water from the sources to any part of the 
grounds. If the fall in the land is sufficient, a 
pipe of adequate size may be laid in the creek 
at the upper end of the grounds, or above them, 
so that the water can be carried to the pond by 
gravity. When such piping is not feasible, a 
dam must be built at the upper end of the prop- 
erty high enough to carry the water where de- 
sired. "What may be called the reservoir, or 
supply-dam, should not be solid from shore to 
shore, but have a wide sluiceway at the chan- 
nel-point, closed by splash-boards or gates, 
which may be removed or opened during 
freshets to carry away the surplus water and 
maintain the reservoir at as nearly a normal 
height as possible. 

Where it can be done, an ideal plan is to 
establish a regular reservoir at the upper end 
of the establishment, where the water can rest 
awhile, subside and breed plankton, and from 
which the supply for the hatchery can be drawn. 



POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 9 

Concrete is the best material for dams across 
a stream, but whether built of concrete, timber 
or masonry, the lower face should not be per- 
pendicular, especially if the stream is large or 
its volume frequently changes, for if it is the 
falling water will rapidly wash a big pool at 
the base of the dam and is apt to cut under the 
foundation. To ensure permanency the lower 
face of the dam should be sloped, either un- 
brokenly or in a slightly reversed curve from 
the crown. The curved construction is the 
most approved form to prevent pool formation 
and undermining. 

Construction of Ponds. — Ponds for black 
bass may be dug below the surface of the ground 
or built above it to accommodate the pitch of 
the land, the fancy of the owner, or the reputa- 
tion of the supplying stream for flooding. If 
the land is flat, and the water to be introduced 
by means of a dam across the stream, naturally 
the ponds will be dug below the surface, and 
perhaps in addition will need sides built up for 
some distance above. If the land has a decided 
pitch, then the natural course will be to build 
the ponds entirely or almost entirely above the 



10 FISH CULTURE 

surface. Such construction may be considered 
as ideal, because perfect drainage is then cer- 
tain. 

Earlier bass-culture was conducted in ponds 
of very small dimensions, but with advancing 
experience the area for breeding-fish was in- 
creased, until now some almost approach the 
size of lakes. Few now in use for breeders are 
less than 200 by 75 feet; and the tendency is 
to make them much larger. Four to five acres, 
however, is about the limit that can conveniently 
be cared for ; and those who breed bass feel that 
even that space can be more satisfactorily 
handled, and with better results, when divided 
into two or three breeding-ponds than as a 
single body of water. Owing to the expense of 
constructing very large ponds, and the length 
of time required for their completion, it is ad- 
visable when starting a bass plant to build one 
or two ponds about 300 by 100 feet in order that 
there may be an early stock of young fish. 

Depth and Bottom. — The bottom of a pond 
for fish-cultural purposes is divided into two 
parts, one called the " kettle,' ' and the other the 
" spawning-shelf,' ' or simply " shelf.' ' The 



POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 11 

first is an area at the outlet end of the pond 
deeper than the shelf and intended as the winter 
quarters of the bass. The second is the area in 
which the bass spawn and spend the greater 
part of the year, and is the shoalest part of the 
pond, as well as of the greatest extent. 

Some culturists prefer to construct a bottom 
which slopes gradually downward from the 
upper or inlet end to the lower or outlet. Un- 
questionably fish seem to do as well in a pond 
of this character, and it does not necessarily 
mean a loss of the spawning area. Bass often 
build their nests in from six to eight feet of 
water, although in such instances it is usually 
late in the season. Ponds with a sloping bot- 
tom throughout are not nearly as easily handled 
and cared for as those in which the water over 
the spawning shelf is approximately of even 
depth. One desirable feature is the greater 
ease with which the action and progress of the 
fish may be watched during the spawning 
period, or at any other time. Close observation 
of bass is essential during the height of the 
spawning season. At times there will be fresh- 
ly laid eggs, eyed eggs, eggs just hatched, fry 



12 FISH CULTUEE 

freshly hatched, fry collected and ready to rise 
towards the surface of the water, all at the same 
time. 

Fry have been seen at nine oclock in the 
morning tight against the bottom, and at three 
o 'clock in the afternoon swimming near the sur- 
face. On occasions fry may be hugging the 
stones on the nest, and half an hour later be 
swimming freely two or three inches above the 
bottom. In deep water or on sloping bottoms, 
movements of the fry are apt to escape notice. 
Before the culturist is aware of it, he will find 
the edges of his pond black with advanced fry 
which have escaped being impounded, and which 
he will find extremely difficult to capture in 
their entirety. 

Sides and Outlets. — Ponds with sides of 
natural earth are better than those with sides 
constructed of concrete, stones or boards. Be- 
sides, the cost of artificial walls would be so 
great as to be almost prohibitive. The only 
drawback to the natural earth is the proneness 
of muskrats to pierce them with holes, which de- 
stroy the banks and often allow water to escape. 
The sides of a bass-pond should always be 





BASS HATCHERY AT MILL CREEK, MICH., SHOWING RE- 
TAINING-WALL TO PREVENT FLOODING. 



POND-CULTUEE OF BLACK BASS 13 

sodded to the water's edge, both for beauty and 
for the encouragement of grasshoppers and 
crickets, which will occasionally fall into the 
water and furnish food for the fish. There 
should be a valve or regulating board at every 
water-intake, so as to guage and control the 
quantity of water used. The inflow-pipe or 
sluice ought to be carefully screened, in order 
to prevent the entry of any undesirable water- 
life, as eels, and mud-puppies (otherwise known 
as water-dogs or hellbenders) either of which 
can do considerable damage. The outlet of the 
brood-pond may be by splash-board or pipe, but 
whichever is adopted it must be enclosed by 
screens, to prevent either mature or small fish 
from escaping. The desirable place for the 
outlet is the centre of the breast of the pond. 
It is also very important that arrangements be 
made by which the water can be drawn off 
gradually when desired, so as not to create a 
suction sufficient to carry out of the pond any 
small fish, which may have escaped from cribs 
or pounds. 

Brood-ponds should contain aquatic plants, 
such as the common water-lily (Nymphia 



14 FISH CULTURE 

odorata). During hot summer days bass love 
to lie underneath the shade of its leaves, but 
care must be taken not to permit the plants to 
gain such a strong hold as to clog the pond and 
prevent free work. 

Quarters for Fry and Fingerlings. — Ponds 
for the exclusive use of the advanced fry or 
fingerlings of bass are just as necessary as 
ponds for brood-fish. It is difficult to have too 
many ponds. It is recommended that there be 
not less than five fry-ponds for every brood- 
pond of about ten thousand square feet, and 
each of considerable area, with a combined area 
equal at least to that of the brood-pond. The 
more room there is for the advanced fry and 
fingerlings the less will be the amount of canni- 
balism. 

A large number of medium-sized ponds for 
advanced fry and fingerlings, instead of one or 
two large ponds, is preferable, because it is es- 
sential to control or closely supervise the fish, 
which cannot be done if the body of water is 
very large. The dimensions of the fry-ponds 
will be governed by the available ground, the 
quantity of natural food which can be bred, 



POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 15 

the convenience of handling, and the number of 
fish to be placed therein. 

Again, it is emphasised on general principles 
that the smaller the number of advanced fry 
placed in a rearing-pond, the greater will be 
the percentage when the period arrives for their 
distribution. A pond of less than 30 by 20 feet 
ought not to be considered for a moment, since 
it would hardly rear 2,000 fish to be two months 
old, probably much less. About 2500 square 
feet, carrying approximately 20,000 advanced 
fry to the age of thirty days, or the fingerling 
stage, may be considered as a minimum. 

The depth of water in the fry-pond is an im- 
portant consideration. Young bass being rapid 
growers during the first few months, in order 
that they may develop freely and quickly 
should have the highest temperature of water 
naturally obtainable, so long as it does not ex- 
ceed 85 degrees. It is for this reason that fry 
ponds for bass are seldom more than two feet 
deep, with a minimum of 12 inches, and with 
a kettle at the lower end to facilitate the use of 
a net when the water is drained off to take out 
the fish. 



16 FISH CULTUBE 

The shape of a fry-pond is immaterial, pro- 
viding there are not many angles to prevent 
quick and easy seining ; yet it is an economy to 
have fry-ponds longer than their width, so that 
they may be more easily seined, since the 
method is to seine them lengthwise and not 
across. 

Fry-ponds are to be located as close to the 
breeding-ponds as possible, chiefly on account 
of convenience in transferring, and close to- 
gether, so that when sorting takes place the 
different sizes of fish may be quickly changed 
from one to another. If there be any consider- 
able number they should be divided into groups, 
each with a separate drainage system, and a 
separate water-supply; for, as high tempera- 
tures are necessary, such waters lose their 
health-giving qualities very rapidly. 

As soon as possible ponds enough should be 
built to have two complete sets for use in alter- 
nate years, so that while one set is used the 
other can be drawn entirely clear of water from 
September until March. Two sets of ponds will 
be found useful also because of the rapid 
growth of aquatic plants, an essential feature 



POND-CULTUEE OF BLACK BASS 17 

of a brood-pond. The drawing off of water en- 
tirely from September until March is desirable 
because it encourages the growth of plankton, 
an essential feature in successful bass-culture, 
and also because it destroys the larvae of the 
dragon-fly, and of water-beetles, the water- 
beetles themselves and the crayfish, all destruc- 
tive although furnishing food for the fishes. 
Finally, the periodical drawing off of water as- 
sists in keeping algae in check, — one of the 
greatest nuisances known to fish-culturists. 

Introduction of the Stock. — For some years 
it was universally believed that mature 
bass must, under all circumstances, be intro- 
duced from their wild habitat into the hatchery 
in the autumn, to insure their spawning the fol- 
lowing spring. An impression prevailed that 
the fish required time to accustom themselves 
to their new environments, and to recover from 
the excitement or terror of capture and trans- 
portation. 

Those who entertained this view may have 
acquired it from the knowledge that some- 
times, after abortive efforts had been made to 
express eggs from a ripe female, she was un- 



18 FISH CULTURE 

able to perform that function herself. But tHe 
experiences of Dwight Lydell, and of the late 
Frank N. Clark, two authorities on the culture 
of small-mouthed bass, and the observations 
of others, seem to show conclusively that 
neither terror nor excitement can be taken as 
an explanation. Moreover, the same authori- 
ties demonstrated that small-mouthed bass may 
be introduced into hatchery ponds in the spring 
and spawn the same season only when intro- 
duced not earlier than ten days before the 
regular spawning period. It is therefore a 
hazardous procedure to depart from the prac- 
tice of autumn introduction in the case of the 
smallmouth. The spawning habits of the 
largemouths, on the contrary, do not seem to be 
affected or disturbed in any manner by the 
time of their capture. Whether caught in au- 
tumn, early spring, or when ripe, seems to 
them a matter of indifference, for when the 
breeding season arrives they follow the in- 
stincts of their nature and fulfil the function 
of reproduction. 

A cautious bass man will put off securing his 
supply of mature fish in the fall as long as he 



POND-CULTUBE OF BLACK BASS 19 

can safely do so. If he captures them while 
the water is yet warm he is likely to lose many 
of his best specimens through fungus. Be- 
sides that, he does not want to begin taking 
care of a lot of fish and providing food for 
them until he has to do so. If the fish are in- 
troduced in the fall, as it is impossible at that 
time to distinguish sex, it is better to have 
more than needed. The trouble and cost of 
caring for any surplus during the winter is 
trifling. When spring arrives, and the fish 
develop to the point where the sex can be 
determined, sorting must begin and continue 
until the requisite number of males and females 
is secured. 

Feeding Mature Bass. — For a day or two 
after wild mature bass have been placed in 
a breeding-pond it is not worth while to at- 
tempt to feed them. It is better to allow them 
a little time to grow accustomed to their new 
quarters, and also to become quite hungry. 
One of the difficult tasks to accomplish is to 
induce small-mouthed bass to take other than 
live food, especially when there are no domes- 
ticated fish already in the pond; if bass are 



20 FISH CULTUEE 

already there the work is greatly simplified, 
because the new comers, seeing the " oldsters' ' 
rush forward to the meal, are more likely to do 
likewise, if only to gratify their natural in- 
stinct to keep their fellows from getting any- 
thing they can possess for themselves. 

Bass-culturists naturally resort to beef lungs 
and liver if live food cannot be furnished. 
Some believe it essential to cut these into 
slices about the bigness of one's little finger, 
so as to make the pieces somewhat resemble 
worms or fishes, and give them a wriggling mo- 
tion as they sink, deceiving the bass into think- 
ing that they are alive. The experience of 
others shows that the energy expended in doing 
this is unnecessary, for small-mouthed bass 
can be induced to take lungs and liver cut in 
an ordinary meat chopper through the largest 
perforated plate, if time and patience are ex- 
ercised. As soon as smallmouths have be- 
come used to this food, they will eat it as readily 
and eagerly as trout. 

Bass, even in ponds, do not school as closely 
or move with the same speed as trout, there- 
fore artificial food must not be thrown at them 



POND-CULTUKE OF BLACK BASS 21 

as rapidly or in the same manner as when feed- 
ing trout. At the outset, when teaching bass 
to take lungs and liver, only a piece or two 
at a time should be cast into the water, and 
then by the hand and not by means of a dipper 
or spoon. If the pieces can be thrown so as to 
cause them to skip a little, the chances of the 
fish taking them will be greatly increased. 
When feeding the first few times, mixing with 
it a few minnows will induce the fish to take 
the artificial food more readily. The best plan 
is to throw two or three little strips of lung, 
then a minnow or two, and immediately after 
a few more pieces of meat. 

Mature bass may become accustomed to the 
artificial food in a week or two, but the cul- 
turist need not lose heart if at the end of five 
or six weeks they have not yet brought them- 
selves to feed upon it. Efforts must be con- 
tinued, for sooner or later, success will be 
achieved. It will be a great aid if the feeder 
makes a practice of casting the food upon the 
water daily from the same spot on the bank of 
the pond, for fish soon become accustomed to 
their attendant and his ways, and if they are 



22 FISH CULTURE 

hungry hasten to the customary spot when he 
appears in the hope of getting something to 
eat. One fish-culturist never passes his feed- 
ing-place without throwing some small objects 
into the water, even if it is only a handful of 
pebbles. The consequence is that whenever he 
appears there is a rush of fish after him and 
they will almost take liver from his fingers. 

Minnows. — Small-mouthed bass grow sleek 
and healthy on liver and lungs, although it is 
admitted that minnows and crayfish, if they 
can be secured, are the best food that can be 
given. It is surprising what a quantity of 
minnows a few bass can devour and digest in 
a very short space of time. One hundred ma- 
ture bass can readily dispose of 800 of the 
small fishes without any trouble whatever in 
an hour, when fed to them two or three at a 
time. It is not advisable to furnish so many, 
however, for if the bass average two apiece, 
per day, they will not starve. Neither is it 
well to feed them in such a way that by the 
time the assistant is through all the minnows 
have disappeared. Some advocate feeding one 
half the number allotted for a meal, two and 



POND-CULTUEE OF BLACK BASS 23 

three at a time, and then casting in the re- 
mainder at once. It is argued that by this 
method many of the minnows will escape for 
the time being, and keep the bass busy for 
half a day or more hunting them. This search- 
ing for the food some men declare to be bene- 
ficial. 

There is one important exception to this 
rule, however, namely, that just before the 
spawning time the minnows must be thrown in 
one at a time and eaten before another is tossed 
in. It is inevitable that some nests will be 
stolen and some may escape observation. 
When this is the case, if there are any number 
of minnows at large in the pond, they will have 
the time of their lives when they come upon 
the young bass. They know their opportunity 
and will seize it. They are much larger than 
the bass-fry, and a hundred or two healthy 
minnows can easily devour several thousand 
fry in two or three days ; hence there must be 
no minnows alive and free in the breeding- 
pond at spawning time. 



CHAPTEE II 

SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS AND CAEE 
OF FRY 

Having considered the character of the pond, 
the quality and volume of the water-supply 
and its disposition, the next important point 
for presentation is that of the nests and their 
adjuncts. Bass nests in a hatchery are of two 
kinds: those provided by the culturist, and 
those which the bass themselves make. 

Artificial nests consist of a box containing 
coarse gravel. The size of the box is some- 
times determined by the size of the fish in the 
breeding-pond, but ordinarily it is two feet 
square, with two sides open. The bottom is 
fitted with two strips, three to six inches wide. 
The thicker the strips, the deeper the bed of 
gravel. The top of the box is provided with a 
board to strengthen it, and on which to place 
a weight to keep the apparatus steady in the 

24 




kMA/j. 




'^m 




LARGE-MOUTHED BLACK BASS (Micropterus Salmoides). 
SMALL-MOUTHED BLACK BASS (Micropterus Dolomieu). 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 25 

water, as well as to act as a sunshade to the 
fish. A spot several inches deep and two feet 
square is excavated in the pond, the box is 
placed therein, and the hole filled with gravel, 
varying from the size of a goose-egg to that of 
a marble, to the top-level of the strips. It is 
policy to place some of the large stones in the 
centre, as a bass would do if it were construct- 
ing the nest. 

It is the male that selects the site for the 
nest and gets it ready for use. He does this 
before he has even looked about him for a 
mate. If he has started early in the season, 
say the latter part of May, while he is yet un- 
ripe or "hard," he sometimes digs for days 
before the nest is completed to his satisfaction. 

Construction of the Natural Nest. — The 
nest-building season begins usually about the 
middle or latter part of May and sometimes 
does not end until after the first week in July. 
As a rule the site for a nest is selected with 
great care and with close attention to sur- 
rounding conditions. Bottoms with small 
loose stones, or with gravel or clean sand, are 
invariably preferred. Places with large rocks 



26 FISH CULTURE 

or immovable stones are generally avoided. 
Early in the spring nests are located in shal- 
lows where the water is likely to catch the 
warming rays of the sun earliest and receive 
them the longest, but nests will often be located 
in places shaded throughout the day; and to- 
ward the close of the season they may be con- 
structed in seven or more feet of water, doubt- 
less because the shallows have become too 
warm for the proper hatching of the eggs. 
Wherever possible, a natural nest is placed in 
close proximity to a large stone, a sunken log 
or some other submerged object, which will 
protect it from being violently washed by the 
water in stormy weather. 

A site selected, the male bass clears away the 
mud and debris from a circular space, by ex- 
ceedingly rapid fanning motions of the pec- 
toral and ventral fins, and by slower sweeps of 
his tail. Leaves and sticks are carried outside 
the enclosure in his mouth. Stones and 
pebbles are pushed into place by means of his 
nose. Usually a slight concavity is noticed in 
the natural nest, and should be imitated in the 
artificial one. Sometimes a natural nest is 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 27 

found almost perfectly level, due it is believed 
to the rapid ripening of the male, which pre- 
vents his completion of the work. If he is 
nearly ripe, he is less likely to spend much time 
in construction, but devotes himself rather to 
thoroughly cleaning it and to working the 
larger gravel to the centre, the two most im- 
portant considerations. The larger stones are 
centred in the nest because it is among them 
that the bulk of the eggs are to be deposited. 
Courting the Female. — When his house is 
ready, the male bass seeks a female and pays 
court to the first that he meets. He does so 
without ascertaining whether or not she is ripe, 
reserving for himself the privilege of reject- 
ing or divorcing her after she has been to the 
nest and proves unripe. On encountering a 
female he begins the most grotesque contor- 
tions. He will swim around her in erratic 
circles, will nip her gently on the cheeks and 
belly, rub against her and show himself off, in 
his way, just as proudly as a cock bird does 
when courting a hen. All the time he guides 
her steadily towards the nest. At times she 
appears to accompany him willingly; then 



28 FISH CULTURE 

again she displays indifference and even re- 
luctance at accepting his advances. When at 
last he has succeeded in coaxing her to the nest, 
it seems as if the coquette regarded his work of 
nest-building with scorn or contempt. She is 
apt to swim languidly several times over the 
nest and then leave it, to the evident perturba- 
tion of the male, for he redoubles his antics and 
contortions, exhibiting as many as a negro in a 
"cake walk," and guides her back again to the 
nest. 

This courting sometimes continues for two 
or three hours before the female consents to 
remain. Then if he finds she is hard, and the 
eggs cannot be expressed, he promptly drives 
her away and goes in search of another female, 
to whom he pays as assiduous court as he did 
to the first. Should she prove ripe, the func- 
tion of spawning is begun. If much delay oc- 
curs in meeting a ripe female, he does not 
accept the fact philosophically, but "runs 
amuck." He darts hither and thither over the 
pond, and at the first nest in which he discovers 
a ripe female, there ensues at once a free fight. 
The raging bachelor dashes into the peaceful 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 29 

household, and does his best to thrash the male 
owner and appropriate his mate. It is a bat- 
tle often to the death, a struggle in which no 
quarter is desired nor given, and in which the 
female is apparently an uninterested specta- 
tor, ready to accompany the victor. Whatever 
the outcome, the nest is nearly certain to be 
destroyed. 

On account of the propensity of the male to go to 
war when unable to find a ripe female, it is consid- 
ered best by some not to stock a breeding-pond with 
pairs, but to introduce females in the proportion of 
about five females to three males. The surplus is not 
lost, because it often happens that a male will nest a 
second time, if he comes upon a ripe female after he 
has hatched out the first lot of young and discards 
them. All fish-culturists, however, do not advocate 
or practice having the sexes in the proportion of five 
females to three males. On the contrary, the majority 
probably pair the fish evenly, and assert that no ill 
effects have ever followed doing so. 

It is a curious fact that no matter how many nests 
there are in a pond every male is able to distinguish 
his own from his neighbour 's. A male may be removed 
from the nest at one end of the pond, taken to the 
other and liberated, yet, even if the distance is a mile 
or more, it will not be long before he will be found 



30 FISH CULTURE 

back again on the nest he constructed. To prove this 
fact it is only necessary to catch a male, mark him 
and liberate him at once. 

While the black bass is usually satisfied with one 
female, monogamy is not an invariable habit. It is 
said that sometimes a male, seeing a female passing 
the nest, although he already has a mate, will rush 
out and bring in the stranger, and add her to the 
household. It is also said that occasionally, for some 
reason or other, before the female has finished ejecting 
her eggs, the male will become dissatisfied with her, 
drive her away and bring in another mate to take her 
place. Again, if a female is not attracted by the par- 
ticular male, he will sometimes have great difficulty 
in inducing her to remain. She will make efforts to 
escape while he is doing all in his power to keep her. 

Sometimes she succeeds in getting away, and mates 
with another male, but rarely without a terrible battle 
in which she may lose one or more of her fins, or be 
otherwise injured. It is possible that when the female 
is dissatisfied, it may not be due to a lack of attraction 
on the part of the male, but that she is not suited 
with the nest, particularly if it is restricted by an arti- 
ficial box. 

Behaviour when Spawning. — The act of 
spawning and impregnation is exceedingly in- 
teresting. The male and female pass each 
other in opposite directions, pressing their 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 31 

bodies together, and thus assisting each other 
in voiding the eggs and milt which issue almost 
simultaneously, the eggs possibly an instant 
ahead of the milt. If the eggs do not come 
freely, the male will sometimes go to the length 
of pressing the abdomen of the female with his 
mouth, she working her tail rapidly as if to 
loosen the tissues ; indeed, frequent and plainly 
visible tremors shake both male and female 
from head to tail throughout the entire process. 
The female does not yield all her eggs at 
once. The larger the fish and the warmer the 
water the greater will be the number of eggs 
deposited at a single spawning. As a rule, one 
period of spawning covers about half an hour, 
but even then there is not an uninterrupted 
flow of eggs ; they issue in little spurts or jets, 
from 30 to 60 seconds apart. There may be, 
also, intervals from three to ixve minutes, dur- 
ing which the pair swim around the nest, 
coquetting with one another. At the end of 
half an hour there is a cessation of egg-laying, 
of indeterminate length, depending on the 
temperature of the water and upon the condi- 
tion of the female. As a rule, two or three 



32 FISH CULTUEE 

days elapse before all the eggs are deposited. 

As soon as all the eggs are laid, the male 
drives the female away and assumes full 
charge of caring for the eggs and hatching 
them. He moves slowly back and forth a few 
inches above the nest, with intervals for rest 
of perhaps a minute, keeping his pectoral fins 
moving all the time, so as to fan away all dirt 
or sediment, and often raising his body to an 
acute angle so as to bring the fanning tail-fin 
closer to the eggs. Every few minutes he will 
carefully scrutinise all parts of the nest, to 
make sure there is no dirt anywhere ; and will 
make short excursions to see that no enemies 
nor curious fish are approaching too near. 

During this period he exhibits marked 
savagery, — seems to have lost nearly all sense 
of fear. At such times a bass has been known 
to rush fiercely at a man's hand thrust into the 
water, and bite it with all his might. After 
the eggs have hatched, and when the culturist 
is dipping the advanced fry from the nest, it 
is not uncommon to have the old male rush at 
the net and sometimes tear it. It is unsafe for 
any fish to approach a nest while it is occupied 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 33 

by eggs or fry, for a bass will not hesitate to 
attack a fish three or four times its own size, 
and will invariably succeed in driving it away, 
unless, as before described, it is another black 
bass, one on a rampage for a mate. A bass 
of one and a half pounds will put to flight two 
or three carp of twenty to twenty-five pounds' 
weight. 

Bass which have been kept in breeding-ponds 
lose to some extent, in course of time, the 
viciousness they display in a wild state when 
spawning. Seeing mankind as often as they 
do, and receiving food from their keepers 
regularly, the fish become domesticated, and 
the regular attendant, if he moves quietly, can 
go around the pond and attend to his work 
without disturbing them. Still, it is always 
better at spawning time to approach a nest 
only when necessary, and then in the quietest 
and most inconspicuous manner possible. 
Domestication of bass never extends to a point 
where the male views a disturbance of his nest 
with resignation. While not always as vicious 
as when in a wild state, he will often display 
strong anger and bite a man's bare legs if he 



34 FISH CULTURE 

wades into the water, or strike at his hands 
or at the net when the nest is being tampered 
with. 

During all the time of building the nest and 
watching the eggs, and until long after the 
little fish are hatched, the male bass does not 
usually take any food. If food be dropped 
into the nest he will pick it up and throw it 
outside. It is said to be a fact that if a fish 
has been killed, or for some reason driven 
from the nest while the eggs are still un- 
hatched, and another male comes along and 
takes possession, instead of assuming charge 
and hatching the eggs as he finds them he will 
simply treat the eggs as dirt, clean the nest, 
and bring in a female to deposit a new stock. 

Another curiosity of the spawning period is 
the frequency with which a male will select for 
his mate a female much larger than himself. 
Out of forty-seven nests which I examined in 
one natural pond, two-thirds of the males were 
much smaller than the females; and, as a rule, 
a female bass is larger than a male of the same 
age. Except for a short time before spawning 
actually begins it is extremely difficult to dis- 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 35 

tinguish the male from the female, — indeed 
most fish-culturists say it is impossible to do 
so, in spite of the contrary belief among fish- 
ermen. Just before spawning time the females 
are rounder in outline than the males. 

Barrenness occurs to a greater or less extent among 
all fresh-water fishes, but this does not imply that a 
female will be barren throughout her life. Some may 
be barren one year and never again until there comes 
what may be called a * ' change of life ' ' ; or barren for 
two or even three successive years, and then produce 
good eggs. Intermittent barrenness is more common 
among introduced fishes in captivity than among wild 
indigenous species. One of the most conspicuous ex- 
amples in the eastern United States is the rainbow 
trout, of which half of the females in a single pond 
have been barren in one year, and at the same time 
half of the males were either without milt, or yielded 
infertile milt. This, however, is merely an illustration 
of a well known law of nature, that changed environ- 
ment is likely to produce sterility in animal life. 

Preference for Natural Nests. — Many men 
urge that artificial bass-nests should not be 
placed nearer together than ten to fifteen feet; 
and that the boxes ought to be so arranged that 
the fish on one nest cannot see the fish on an- 



36 FISH CULTURE 

other; yet in particular cases, where it was 
necessary for the nests actually to face each 
other, no trouble was experienced. Moreover, 
a number of bass have built natural nests im- 
mediately outside and against the boxes of some 
of the occupied artificial nests, and were not 
disturbed. Several other fish built natural 
nests close together and appeared to get along 
well. This becomes more significant from the 
fact that these bass were not domesticated in 
any way, but were wild fish caught during the 
spring in Lake Erie, and introduced into the 
breeding-ponds, where they built nests and 
spawned a few days after their arrival. 

In every pond fish will be found which ab- 
solutely refuse to make use of nests prepared 
for them, however carefully constructed, but 
will build their own, sometimes of inferior con- 
struction. Some bass have, on occasions, 
carried their apparently obstinate rejection of 
an artificial nest so far as to scoop out a hole 
in the muddy bottom, in which unfavourable 
situation eggs were deposited and hatched. 

Often the natural nests are larger and con- 
tain more eggs than those which are artificially 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 37 

built. A skilled bass-culturist in commenting 
on this peculiarity said : 

"In the use of the artificial or box nests, it is pos- 
sible that the female selected by the male may be an 
extraordinary fish. In their maneuvres back and 
forth on the nest, it is my opinion that the female 
sometimes becomes tired of her confinement, refuses 
all persuasion of the male, and will not remain on the 
nest until all of her eggs are cast. I noticed particu- 
larly in one season, that the larger fish nearly always 
occupied the natural nests, and it would naturally 
follow that there would be found the largest number 
of eggs. Of course this idea will not prevent an in- 
crease in the size of the artificial box, but even then, 
in my opinion, they are sometimes cramped for 
room." 

There is reason to believe that this opinion 
is nearly correct, and it leads to the thought 
that whenever the size and the character of the 
bottom of a pond will permit it, natural nests 
will be productive of more eggs and fish than 
the same ponds with only artificial nests. The 
bass-culturist quoted above, an ardent believer 
in natural nests, said further: 

"Where ponds are small in area, it is perhaps nec- 
essary that artificial nests of some character be used, 



38 FISH CULTURE 

so as to provide more or less seclusion. From my 
observation and experience, I should prefer, where 
conditions permitted, to build no nests, but prepare 
for the spawning season by arranging the pond as 
follows: I should construct the edges or shores of 
the pond in irregular shape, allowing a point to pro- 
ject here and there, creating small bays, somewhat 
like one or two of the ponds at the Drayton Plains 
Hatchery, Michigan. Then instead of using the arti- 
ficial or box-nest, I should simply provide a sunshade, 
set upon props or sticks, leaving all sides free and 
open to the unrestricted movements of the fish. In 
a pond of large area, I am satisfied that this is ample 
shelter. It is only needed to protect the fish, while 
hovering over the nest, from the direct rays of the 
sun. The size and area of the pond would furnish 
the same seclusion that is given in a pond of smaller 
size by the box or Lydell nest." 

Bass-fry and their Care, — When the young 
small-mouthed bass issue from the eggs they 
are exceedingly small and almost transparent; 
but in from 24 to 48 hours, depending on the 
temperature of the water, they change to dark 
brown and then to black, and resemble a newly 
hatched tadpole. There is no such quick 
change of colour with the large-mouthed bass, 
in which the early stages of development of the 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 39 

fry proceed much more slowly than in the case 
of the smallmouth. 

During the sac stage the fry of the small- 
mouth huddle close among the stones in the 
nest, a quivering and almost solid black mass. 
In this period they cling so closely to the stones 
that it is impossible to remove them without in- 
juring and killing large numbers. As the fish 
approach the advanced-fry stage they begin 
slowly to rise. "When the metamorphosis is 
completed they approach close to the surface, 
provided the water-temperature is right. If 
when they are rising the temperature falls the 
little fish will drop at once to the bottom. The 
ascent from the nest to the surface is not sud- 
den but gradual, and by a series of upward and 
downward movements, covering a period of 
about three days. A rise of a few inches is 
the limit for the first day, and about a foot or 
more the second, if the water-conditions are 
favourable, or if there is that much depth. The 
shallower the water the more rapid will be the 
ascent, which means of course, a more rapid de- 
velopment of the fry, on account of a higher 
water-temperature. The third rise is usually 



40 FISH CULTUEE 

to within a few inches of the surface, regard- 
less of the depth of the water. 

Each day, as night approaches, the fry sink 
back to the nest, due to the fact that the water 
becomes cooler. After the lapse of a few days, 
if the advanced fry are not confined in cribs, 
the male parent crowds them toward the shore 
and abandons them. The period from the time 
of hatching to the time of abandonment, is from 
seven to ten days, under ordinarily favourable 
conditions. 

For about twenty-four hours after this, the 
little fish swim together in detached schools, 
gradually separating until they finally become 
almost solitary in their habits. They then ex- 
hibit pronounced cannibalistic habits, pursuing 
and devouring each other, or attempting to do 
so. In a wild state however, the young bass 
at this period of their lives do not terrorise 
other forms of fish-life. On the contrary, 
small yellow perch, shiners and even minnows, 
regard them as tidbits, and for days the young 
bass are kept busy escaping the maw of those 
who a few months later will in turn scurry to 
places of safety on their approach. 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 41 

Cannibalism of Bass. — Of all fresh-water 
fish, the small-mouthed bass from infancy, and 
the largemonth from a year old, are the most 
inveterate cannibals. "Were it not for their 
high qualities as food and game, their intro- 
duction into any water could only be regarded 
as a misfortune. Cannibalism with the small- 
mouth begins within a day or two after they 
have become advanced fry, increases in inten- 
sity as they grow older, and continues until 
death overtakes the fish. It is this craving for 
the flesh of their own kind that makes it diffi- 
cult to rear bass to maturity in large numbers 
in captivity. 

When, with rare devotion, the male parent 
watches the eggs, cares for the fry and ad- 
vanced fry to the point of driving them to shore, 
preparatory to abandoning them, there is no 
indication whatever of his cannibalistic habits ; 
but no sooner has he driven them into shelter 
among the weeds where he leaves them, than 
his appetite returns, not only with full force, 
but whetted by his abstinence of two or three 
weeks when a housekeeper. At this critical 
moment, he will devour as many of his progeny 



42 FISH CULTUEE 

as lie can catch. The young bass that escape 
have learned in a rude school what to expect 
from older fish, and, their instinct suddenly de- 
veloped by the object-lesson they have had, 
proceed at once to imitate their parent by try- 
ing to devour each other. Very rapidly the 
smaller and weaker succumb to the superior 
strength and speed of the larger. It is a 
struggle for existence and the survival of the 
strongest. 

No amount of food given is sufficient to en- 
tirely conquer this instinct of cannibalism. 
On one occasion 20,000 fingerlings were placed 
in a pond in July, to be retained there until 
October. They were fed six times a day, with 
ground fish, which they ate ravenously, and it 
was estimated that each day there was given 
about three times their aggregate weight in 
food; yet despite the quantity of food given 
and the oversight exercised, when they were 
counted the 20,000 fish in July had dwindled to 
11,000 in October. Those which survived had 
grown wonderfully. None was less than four 
inches in length, and some were over seven 
inches. 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 43 

Cribs and Nest-boxes. — "When the eggs in 
the hatchery have all hatched in any one nest, 
a crib or screen is usually placed around it to 
confine the young fish until the time arrives to 
transfer them to the fry-pond. The nests vary 
much in size as well as in the number of eggs 
which are deposited therein; consequently it is 
important that if a crib be used to surround 
the fry it should be of large diameter (usually 
2 ft. 6 inches). A crib is a circular frame- 
work of heavy band-iron, with the sides covered 
with cheese-cloth or thin muslin of good quality. 
The top and bottom are left open. As it is im- 
portant that the top of a crib be at least six 
inches above the surface of the water, the depth 
will determine its height, which should not be 
less than four feet. Yet it is not a serious 
matter if a crib be of less size than the nest, 
because the male will keep the young outside 
of it close to the crib ; when these outsiders begin 
to rise, the attendants can gather them up with 
a scap-net, but under such circumstances it is 
impossible to prevent a few small bass from 
escaping, and the work of saving the advanced 
fry is very much increased. Those who have 



U FISH CULTURE 

had experience in gathering fry from around 
cribs have noticed that with each succeed- 
ing attempt to gather in the little fish, they be- 
come wilder and harder to catch. If the crib 
be of sufficient size to completely surround the 
largest nest, all this work is easily avoided. 

The crib is slipped around the wooden nest, 
and as soon as it is finally settled, so that the 
lower rim is well imbedded in the bottom of the 
pond, the wooden nest is carefully lifted out. 
It is exceedingly important that the bottom of 
the crib be firmly planted in the floor of the 
pond, so as to obviate the possibility of any of 
the little fish escaping. It may be held in place 
by a board laid across the top and a stone 
placed upon it, but this is rarely necessary ex- 
cepting in localities exposed to very high 
winds. If the nest is a natural or stolen one, 
of course the only thing to do is to set the crib 
about it, for there is nothing to remove. Some 
bass-breeders, instead of employing a circular 
crib of iron, make use of a square crib with 
wooden frame having the same diameter, held 
in place by anchoring it with cords to stones or 
to stakes. 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 45 

Nourishing Fry. — The general practice is to 
allow the fry to remain in the cribs until the 
sac is entirely absorbed, and the fish rise to the 
surface. It is important that the advanced fry 
be removed from the crib the moment they be- 
gin to swim freely, for the reason that in the 
confined space they will dart at each other, 
often nipping off the pectoral or anal fins. 

Experiments made in feeding fry in cribs be- 
fore transferring them to the fry-ponds have 
shown satisfactory results. A bunch of chara 
moss was suspended by a string from the board 
on top of the crib about midway from the bot- 
tom, and the little fish immediately attacked the 
small crustaceans (daphnia and cy clops) which 
swarmed therein. The little fish thus fed were 
held ten days in the crib after they had swum; 
to the surface, making the total age of the fish 
fourteen or fifteen days when they were finally 
transferred to the fry-ponds. They were more 
than double the size of the fish which had not 
been fed in the crib, and there seemed to be a v 
perceptibly smaller amount of cannibalism. 
It is believed to be advantageous to feed the 
•fish before putting them, in the fry-ponds, both 



46 FISH CULTURE 

as a possible diversion from their cannibalistic 
instincts, and because it promotes growth. 

Every pond should be abundantly supplied 
with such aquatic plants as are particularly 
affected by such plankton as daphnia and Cy- 
clops, as it has been found that this food causes 
a more rapid growth among the advanced fry 
than any artificial food which can be given 
them. The best aquatic plant for this purpose 
is chara moss. The potamogeton is also rec- 
ommended very highly, but it is not so satisfac- 
tory as the chara moss, especially for small- 
mouthed bass, which most fish-culturists now 
try to rear, and which are the most difficult 
with which to succeed. The chara moss forms 
a thick mat over the bottom of the pond; so 
thick, indeed, that unless frequently thinned 
too great a quantity will form and smother the 
young fish. It is most important that there 
always be kept a clear space of water, about a 
foot in width, on all sides of the ponds. 

By heavy feeding, both with natural and 
artificial food, and with a favourable water-tem- 
perature, smallmouth fry should be brought to 



SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 47 

a length of one and a half to two inches at the 
end of thirty-five days. It is doubtful whether 
they could be retained much longer without a 
heavy loss through cannibalism, since up to 
this point it has taken continuous labour and the 
utmost vigilance to rear a satisfactory num- 
ber. 

Cultivating the Large-mouthed Bass. — For 
large-mouthed bass the principal require- 
ments are a large pond, similar to that already 
described, and the same water, with the shelf 
well covered with chara moss or coarse grass. 
The largemouth will clear up spots in this 
moss or grass, deposit the eggs thereon and 
hatch them. No artificial nests are necessary. 
The natural nests may be surrounded by cribs 
in the same way as for the small-mouthed bass, 
and at the proper time the young may be re- 
moved to the fry-ponds. 

The large-mouthed bass are much slower in 
turning a dark colour than the smallmouths. 
During the fry stage, they are not quite as can- 
nibalistic, although after they are placed in the 
fry-pond, and begin to feed freely, there is 



48 FISH CULTURE 

little difference in this respect. They can be 
carried, hatched, and reared in a much lower 
grade of water than can be used for the small- 
month, and hence the chances for success with 
them are increased. 







-V": IDs 1 



CHAPTER HI 

EOCK-BASS, CALICO-BASS, AND SUN- 
FISHES 

Although among the smaller fishes, the rock- 
bass, calico-bass (or grass-bass), and two or 
three of the sun-fishes, are well worth attention 
by fish-cultnrists. They afford excellent food, 
and their game qualities are not to be despised 
by anglers. Of the sun-fishes the bluegill, or 
Lake Erie sun-fish, attains a size suitable for the 
market, and has a distinct commercial value. 
Its flesh is firm, sweet, and of high grade. It 
rises readily to an artificial fly, takes bait with 
avidity, and gives the angler a short but brisk 
fight. 

The eggs of the sun-fish can be taken and 
fertilised artificially, and a gratifying percent- 
age hatched; but it is found to be easier, 
cheaper, less troublesome, and quite as satis- 
factory, to allow the fish to spawn naturally, 

49 



50 FISH CULTUEE 

and care for the fry themselves. It is even 
possible to leave the young in the same ponds 
with the adults, until, through growth, over- 
crowding is evident. Some cannibalism will 
naturally follow this method, but usually not to 
a serious extent. It is confined almost wholly 
to the older fish. This is true especially of the 
long-eared and bluegill sun-fishes. However, 
as the sun-fish is so prolific, and the propor- 
tion of eggs naturally fertilised so very large, 
some may be spared to supply the maws of the 
parents, and yet leave enough to make a good 
showing for the fish-culturist. 

The habits of rock-bass, calico-bass and sun- 
fishes, just before breeding time, during this 
period and after it, are very similar to those 
of the black bass, with the exception that the 
sun-fish is more inclined to polygamy ; and that 
none of the three named has as strongly de- 
veloped cannibalistic habits as the black bass. 
The rock-bass is more apt to devour its young, 
and these young are more likely to eat each 
other, than are any of the sun-fishes. The 
calico-bass seems to hanker the least for the 
flesh of its kind. A pisciculturist may there- 



SMALL BASS AND SUN-FISH 51 

fore, with some degree of confidence, have 
either rock-bass and calico-bass, or calico-bass 
and sun-fish, breeding in the same pond. 

Nesting Habits. — Eock-bass and sun-fish are 
decidedly gregarious during the spawning sea- 
son, and their nests are often found closely 
mingled. The whole of the bottom, or both 
sides of a pond, have been observed so thickly 
covered with sun-fish and rock-bass nests that 
they almost touched each other, the occupants 
apparently dwelling in amity. The same type 
of pond may be constructed for the three 
species as for black-bass breeders. It is un- 
necessary to build artificial nests unless the 
bottom be more than usually muddy, although 
these three species prefer sandy or gravelly 
places on which to deposit their eggs. They 
desire from one to three feet of water in which 
to spawn. It is a curious fact that in Pennsyl- 
vania the four principal species instinctively 
choose, when they have the opportunity, differ- 
ent degrees of depths. Calico-bass will often 
build nests in six feet of water. The common 
" pumpkin-seed' ' selects a very shoal spot, and 
begins nest-building a few days earlier than its 



52 FISH CULTUEE 

cousin, the common or long-cared. The blue- 
gill follows a few days later. The common! 
long-eared sun-fish usually locates a little 
deeper than the pumpkin-seed, while the blue-* 
gill seeks the deepest water of them all. 

Spawning Time. — The sun-fishes and the 
rock-bass do not begin spawning quite as early 
as the black bass. In fact they rarely begin 
nest-building until the latter have almost fin- 
ished hatching their eggs. It is seldom, when 
the bass begins spawning the latter part of 
May or the first of June, that sun-fish have 
started to clean up their nests. It is not until 
the end of the first week, or the beginning of 
the second week in June that sun-fish activity 
begins, but when a start is made, there £re 
found to be specimens to continue it until thes 
middle or the latter part of August. There ap- 
pear to be two distinct periods when there is 
a more pronounced industry and a greater 
number of fish on the spawning beds. The 
first period is from the beginning of June until 
the early part of July; the second is from 
about the first to the tenth or fifteenth of An- 
gus! 



SMALL BASS AND SUN-FISH 53 

Nest-making of the Sun-fish, — Sun-fishes 
are small in body, but ambitious wben it comes 
to nest construction. The house-building aims 
of the sun-fishes remind one of the frog, which, 
in the fable, endeavoured to emulate the pro- 
portions of the bull. Happily, unlike the frog, 
which is said to have burst in its efforts, the 
sun-fish achieves success in his ambitions to 
outclass his huge cousin, the black bass, in the 
size, symmetry, design, and even artistic char- 
acter of his house. 

A sun-fish's nest can, in nine cases out of 
ten, be distinguished at a glance from that of 
the small-mouthed bass, even where both have 
located on the same kind of bottom. The for- 
mer, is, in the majority of instances, from two 
to three times as large as that of the bass, and 
when he can select a sandy place where there 
is some coarse gravel the nest is almost in- 
variably a nearly perfect circle surrounded by 
a symmetrical rim of sand, several inches high. 
Thus the gravel is arranged in the center of a 
decidedly bowl-like depression, with almost 
mosaic exactness of design. This domicile, 
while fit in every respect for the accommoda- 



54 FISH CULTURE 

tion of the female during the period of spawn- 
ing, is manifestly too large for her needs. 
Perhaps the size is due to the polygamous in- 
stincts of the male. Be this as it may, it is not 
an uncommon thing to see the male surrounded 
by two, three, or even as many as five, females 
when on the nest, sometimes fertilising the eggs 
of one after the other, and occasionally of two 
simultaneously. 

The sun-fish seems to be very sensitive to ob- 
servation during the process of spawning. 
Every few minutes the operation will be sus- 
pended while the male darts suddenly from the 
nest and encircles it a few feet distant; if any 
other fish happens to be near he will attack it 
savagely, drive it away, and return with a 
jaunty air to his mate or mates. 

Hour by hour and day by day the spawning 
is continued, until all the eggs of one or more 
females are deposited, and the bottom of the 
nest seems to be literally covered with small 
grains of coarse, translucent sand. In the 
majority of cases the females leave to the male 
the task of keeping these eggs clean until they 




PUMPKIN-SEED OR SUN-FISH (Lepomis gibbosus). 
LONG-EARED SUN-FISH (Lepomis auritus) . 



SMALL BASS AND SUN-FISH 55 

hatch them; but there have been instances 
where females assisted the male in the cares 
of parenthood. 

Care of Sun-fish Young. — When first hatched, 
the fry behave very much like those of the bass ; 
but when they reach an advanced stage and rise 
towards the surface, they are not looked after 
with the same solicitude by the parent fish, but 
are discarded almost as soon as they have ab- 
sorbed the yolk-sac. The male sun-fish is an in- 
teresting creature at this period of his life, 
reminding one of a bantam cock ; he is as quick 
to take offence, attack and fight, regardless of 
the size of his antagonist. A single male will 
frequently attack a mature bass or a huge carp, 
with as much ferocity and confidence as a black 
bass would chase a sun-fish were he the house- 
holder. 

Within a brief time after they have been de- 
serted by the parent, the young of the black bass 
scatter, each going its solitary way ; but the sun- 
fish cling together in schools, sometimes for two 
or three weeks ; and in fact they may be found 
during the entire summer in groups of vary- 



56 FISH CULTURE 

ing numbers. The young fish grow very rap- 
idly, and by September it is a joy to behold 
them in their shimmering opal coats. 

Artificial Rearing of Sun-fish Fry. — Unless 
a culturist wishes to be very particular and save 
every possible fish, it will not be found neces- 
sary to surround a nest of sun-fish fry with a 
crib or pound, but he may allow them to scatter 
and dwell in the same pond with the old fish 
until ready to be disposed of. This method has 
one disadvantage in that the culturist can 
scarcely give more than a wild guess as to how 
many fish he is rearing. If he impounds fry, 
and removes the advanced fry to ponds by them- 
selves, he may make a reasonable estimate of 
what he has. 

Fish so removed will grow more rapidly than 
when left in the breeding-ponds, especially if 
the fry-ponds have a good supply of aquatic 
plants which invite abundant plankton. In the 
early days of sun-fish life, the common, long- 
eared species seems to grow more rapidly 
than the bluegill. It is not until after it is 
about three months old that the bluegill starts, 
and then it speedily surpasses its more bril- 




CALICO- OR GR.VSS-BASS (Pomoxys sparoides) 
ROCK-BASS (Ambloplites rupestris). 



SMALL BASS AND StJN-FISH 57 

liantly coloured cousin in size. An additional 
reason for removal is that rapidity of growth is 
gained when the young do not have to spend 
half their time in evading the attempts of the 
mature fish to devour them. It would be a 
waste of time and money to put in any such an 
artificial nest as is used for black bass. It 
would be cheaper to strip the fish and hatch the 
eggs. 

Rock-Bass, — The nest of a rock-bass, while 
usually as large as that of a sun-fish, is some- 
times quite small, less in size than that of a 
small-mouthed bass, and no larger than that of 
an Oswego, or large-mouthed bass. Like the 
largemouth, the " goggle-eyes ' ' will readily 
clean up a nest on masses of aquatic moss or 
chara. Polygamy has not been reported by any 
authority. The male guards its young more 
sedulously than does the sun-fish, and falls little 
behind the small-mouthed bass in this kindly 
duty. 

Calico-Bass. — Calico-bass (grass-bass) prefer 
water that is quite deep for nesting purposes. 
For this reason it is most difficult to observe 
their habits during the spawning season. Why 



58 FISH CULTURE 

they select water so much deeper than the rock- 
bass and the sun-fishes can only be explained by 
the possibility that they prefer semi-darkness 
while spawning, an idea strengthened by the 
fact that a nearly related fish, the crappie, will 
spawn successfully only in cloudy water. 



CHAPTER IV 
CAT-FISH CULTURE 

It is possible to take eggs from the cat-fish, 
but there is no necessity for doing so. Natural 
fertilisation is so nearly perfect, the care given 
by the parent to incubation and to the young is 
so faithful and unremitting, that it is needless 
for the fish-culturist to increase his stock by the 
artificial expression of eggs. Moreover, on ac- 
count of the spiny rays on the pectoral and dor- 
sal fins, the operation of stripping is unpleas- 
ant, and likely to be very painful, to the man 
who attempts it. 

Spotted Cat-fish. — There is one species, the 
spotted cat-fish, which has thus far defied every 
effort made to handle it successfully, even by 
pond-culture. Hitherto the greatest experts 
in the United States have been forced to ac- 
knowledge complete defeat. Spotted cat-fish, 

59 



60 FISH CULTURE 

when transferred to hatchery ponds, absolutely 
refuse to breed, and show no signs nor indica- 
tions of spawning; for this reason it is attract- 
ing considerable attention. At one of the meet- 
ings of the American Fisheries Society, it was 
suggested that possibly success might be 
achieved if the fish were placed in running 
water instead of in ponds. Here is an unbroken 
field, but one of great value, since the " spotted 
cat ' ' has few equals among fish for delicacy of 
flavour. Its successful introduction into waters 
which do not now contain it would mean very 
much for the public. 

The bullhead and yellow cat-fish offer no dif- 
ficulties whatever, and the white cat-fish com- 
paratively few, for artificial or natural breed- 
ing. In the matter of their propagation in 
ponds, the only unhappy feature is the large 
percentage of mature fish which are apt to die 
about the spawning period. The act of spawn- 
ing appears to be nearly as hard on white and 
yellow cat-fish, and even on bullheads, as on 
the shad or eel. One need not be surprised if 
he finds after the spawning period is concluded 
that he has lost nearly half of his stock. The 



CAT-FISH CULTURE 61 

fish at that time contract fungus more readily 
than some scaled fishes. 

White and Yellow Cat-fishes. — The white and 
yellow cat-fishes, when transplanted from rivers 
like the Delaware and the Hudson into interior 
waters in the same latitude, develop a flavour 
excelled by very few species. The yellow one 
takes very kindly to being transferred from its 
native environment, and land-locked, while the 
white cat-fish accommodates itself to changes 
nearly as well. Hence the culture of both these 
species can be profitably carried on for market 
purposes in towns removed some distance from 
sea-port cities, since the prices for them in city 
markets are very encouraging. 

One man in Pennsylvania had a number of arti- 
ficial ponds, each covering a considerable area of 
ground. One or more of them had formerly been 
mill-dams. At a certain period of the year he drew 
down the water, thinned out his stock of young bull- 
heads by netting them out and throwing away the 
smallest, returning to the water only the largest and 
best appearing, as he said that unless such thinning 
took place the entire stock would be stunted and their 
market value depreciated. 

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has for sev- 



62 FISH CULTURE 

eral years been engaged in the propagation of white 
and yellow cat-fish on a large scale. It has, however, 
been giving very little attention to pond-construction 
for this species of fish, simply using types of ponds 
already built. The only uniform features have been 
natural clay banks and clay bottoms without any 
gravel coverings. The most pretentious ponds as far 
as size and general utility are concerned are at Tor- 
resdale Station, in Philadelphia. One is 150 feet 
square; another is 275 feet long and 90 feet wide; 
others are about 100 feet by 30 feet. The largest is 
about six feet deep in the kettle, with an average 
depth of a foot and a half all over the shelf. It was 
formerly used for propagating sun-fish and bass. 
It is excavated throughout and is fed by a small 
stream. The first-mentioned pond is supplied by 
water pumped into it from the Delaware River. 
White and yellow cat-fish do equally well in both 
ponds, and in 1908 the square pond yielded very nearly 
200,000 cat-fish from about 300 brood fish of both sexes. 

Spawning and Care of Young. — The spawn- 
ing habits of the white and yellow cat-fish are 
interesting. Although a nest-builder, the loca- 
tion of the home and the habits of each are not- 
ably different from those of the black bass. 
Instead of selecting a stony or gravelly spot as 
a small-mouthed bass would do, or a sandy; 



CAT-FISH CULTUBE 63 

place like the sun-fish, or a moss-grown bottom 
like the large-mouthed bass, it chooses one of 
the banks of the pond or a sharp depression in 
the bottom. Here is excavated a tunnel or cave, 
sometimes equal in length to the fish itself, and 
several times larger in circumference. 

The eggs, and there are many of them, are 
deposited thickly on the bottom of the excava- 
tion and fertilised, one of the parents taking a 
position over them with only its head projecting 
from the cavern. Here it remains almost mo- 
tionless, rarely leaving for any purpose except 
to drive away an intruder, or when stirred out 
by a stick. Left alone, it will almost imme- 
diately return to its household cares. The cat- 
fish is a solemn and forbidding-looking creature 
about the head, even under favourable circum- 
stances, but there is something almost savage 
in its aspect when guarding a nest. The cav- 
ern, the position which the fish takes, with head 
only projecting, and the warlike look in its eyes, 
together with its capacious mouth, bring to 
mind some fabled monster. 

Under favourable water-conditions in Penn- 
sylvania, both the white and yellow cat-fishes 



64 FISH CULTURE 

begin spawning abont the latter part of June. 
The period of incubation is about two weeks. 
As soon as the young have absorbed their sacs 
and are ready to swim up to the surface, they 
are coaxed from their cavern to the water just 
outside its entrance. Here they remain for a 
day or two, being driven back daily into the 
cave when the sun has gone down, or when en- 
emies approach. Little by little, however, they 
are led away, though kept closely herded, until 
they appear on the surface of the water like a 
big quivering black ball. In this manner they 
work slowly back and forth over the pond. As 
they move, the old fish swims slowly around 
them, driving back into the mass any which may 
stray. At this stage of their development the 
fish-culturist steps in, and with one sweep of his 
long-handled scoop-net gathers in the entire 
school and transfers them to one of his small 
ponds, where they can very quickly be taught 
to eat ground liver, and, later, pieces of bread. 
The fish grow quickly, and by the first of Sep- 
tember are an inch or more long. 

Profit in Pond-culture of the Cat-fish. — Few 
fishes offer greater possibilities than some of 



CAT-FISH CULTURE 65 

the cat-fish, notably the common bullhead and 
the yellow cat-fish. Their cultivation is pecul- 
iarly to be recommended to farmers. Almost 
every man engaged in agriculture possesses a 
piece of low wet land with a spring-run or a 
small stream flowing through it. This land is 
perhaps not extensive enough for ponds of a 
sufficient size for commercial value, but it would 
have to be less than half an acre to be too small 
to be converted into two or three cat-fish ponds 
large enough for an unfailing supply for table 
use. 

Mature fish in confinement will readily take 
almost any food which may be given them. 
They eat living minnows, dry bread, or chopped 
lungs, with equal gusto, and in taking any float- 
ing food make a sucking noise nearly as loud, 
and remarkably similar to, that made by ill-bred 
men when eating soup or drinking coffee. 

Under favourable circumstances cat-fish will 
be ready for the market when nearly two years 
old, and certainly at the age of three. Their re- 
markable tenacity of life should make them par- 
ticularly valuable for the market, since there is 
a very large element among consumers who in- 



66 FISH CULTURE 

sist on purchasing alive the fish they want for 
their table, and living fish bring a much higher 
price than those which are sent to the market 
dead. 

Preparation of Cat- fish Ponds. — Construct 
one pond which will occupy about half the land 
available, and three others which will occupy 
the other half. The large one will be used for 
breeding, and for the maintenance of fish more 
than one year old ; while the smaller ponds are 
for the rearing of young fish up to the age of 
one year. The sorting may all be done into 
these three ponds. Two or three ponds about 
300 feet long and 100 feet wide each, and ten 
or twelve smaller ponds, would yield many hun- 
dred thousand healthy fingerlings and yearlings 
to be sold for stocking purposes. If, however, 
it is designed to raise cat-fish for food and for 
market there must be a decided increase in the 
size and number of the larger ponds. It would 
not be advisable to increase the size of the ponds 
designed for keeping those less than a year old, 
because they could not be easily and quickly 
worked ; but it might be desirable to increase the 
number in order to permit sorting into three 



CAT-FISH CULTUEE 67 

or more sizes at least three times in the first 
twelve months. 

Sorting fish into sizes several times during the year 
is a very important duty of the fish-culturist. This 
is true even when the young are not pronouncedly 
cannibalistic. It is a well known fact that very young 
fish of the same age vary considerably in size. When 
allowed to remain unsorted, the larger annoy the 
smaller, will not allow them to eat until they them- 
selves are gorged, and chase them around the pond 
between meals. As a result, the smaller fishes do not 
grow, at least at the same rate as the larger. When 
sorting is practised, the majority of the smaller, if 
they are in good health, rapidly overtake the larger, 
and there is not much difference in size when they 
reach the yearling stage. At that age, the smallest, 
or cullings, can be disposed of, leaving the others in 
fine shape for rearing to market age. Where the 
species are cannibalistic, sorting is imperative, if it 
is not desired to lose more than fifty per cent, of the 
young stock. 

The larger the volume of water the more 
rapidly the fish will grow. The quicker the 
growth the sooner the fish will be ready for the 
market. Ponds from three quarters to one acre 
in area each are advised, with a length much 
greater than their width. Very wide ponds are 



68 FISH CULTURE 

to be avoided, because of the difficulty in han- 
dling the nets when fish are to be removed, un- 
less it is possible to draw off all the water for 
that purpose. 

The character of the sides and bottoms of the 
ponds for cat-fish culture is important. When 
ponds are built for most types of fishes the bot- 
toms are gravelled, and in some instances — 
trout-culture for example — the sides are walled 
with boards, stone or concrete; but ponds for 
cat-fish must have the banks and bottoms of 
clay, — at least those portions where the fish 
spawn. The kettle, or deep portion, if not of 
clay, may be of heavy mud, but not too deep. 

There are two reasons for this : first, the clay 
banks and bottoms are essential as nest-building 
and spawning places ; second, during the winter 
months cat-fishes burrow to a greater or less 
extent. They cannot do this where the bottom 
is gravelly. 

Two feet is a sufficient depth for the shelf, 
although two and one-half or even three feet 
is more desirable. The kettle should be from 
five to six feet deep. Cat-fish do better where 
the water is not too shallow, and for this reason 



CAT-FISH CULTUEE 69 

the greater depth of the shelf is advised. The 
shelf, a shoal part, had better comprise the 
greater part of the pond, as it gives a larger 
spawning-surface. The kettle naturally will be 
located at the outlet end. Arrangements for 
the inflow and outflow are the same as for bass 
or any other warm-water fish-ponds — that is, 
provide an inflow pipe, and for the outflow con- 
crete gate-frames with splash-boards and 
screens. About the same amount of water is 
ordinarily used as for black bass, although cat- 
fish can get along on a smaller supply. Too 
little water breeds the dangerous fungus. 



CHAPTER V 

CARP CULTURE 

Had it not been for over-enthusiasm carp 
farming would probably now be a very large and 
valuable industry in the United States, and the 
fish generally regarded with friendly eyes. In- 
stead, it is undoubtedly the most execrated and 
unjustly accused fish swimming in American 
waters. 

The introducers of the German carp have been 
likened to Benedict Arnold. Many men have advo- 
cated laws putting a bounty on the death of the fish 
with a view to its extermination. Pennsylvania, in 
order to prevent its increase, carried in its statute 
books for a time a law imposing a heavy fine on any 
person who planted carp in any of the waters of that 
state. 

There is not a fish-crime on the calendar that has 
not been charged against the German carp; some 
rightly, many more wrongly. It is accused of being 

70 



CAEP CULTUEE 71 

a spawn-eater, probably with justice ; also of destroy- 
ing water-plants, which are almost as necessary to 
the well being of fish-life as the water itself. This 
charge is undoubtedly true. Wherever there has been 
a decrease in game fishes it has been accounted re- 
sponsible. There is little if any truth in this last 
statement. In many instances where carp have been 
pronounced the offenders, the decrease has been traced 
to other agencies, chief among them man. The most 
widespread condemnation is that it is unfit to eat, 
as its flesh has a strong muddy flavour due to its 
habit of rooting in the bottom of a pond or stream. 

The bad reputation of the carp was gained 
through over enthusiasm on the part of its 
friends, and misapprehension regarding the re- 
quirements of its successful pond-culture, when 
first introduced into the United States. As a 
matter of fact, while the carp is undoubtedly 
very inferior in table qualities to many native 
food-fishes, it is not an unpalatable fish when 
reared in a suitable environment. It cannot be 
so, since it is found on the bills of fare, at one 
dollar a portion, of high-class restaurants in 
New York and elsewhere. Without doubt, 
many persons who have condemned the carp 
most severely, have eaten it under the impres- 



72 FISH CULTURE 

sion that they were being served with something 
else. Mr. John W. Titcomb, formerly the head 
of the Division of Fish Hatching of the United 
States Bnrean of Fisheries, relates that in Jan- 
uary, 1902, 224 members and guests of the North 
American Fish and Game Protective Associa- 
tion were served with carp at a banquet, ate it 
and pronounced it "good," under the impres- 
sion that it was baked red snapper. 

Bad Reputation Due to Improper Culture. — 
When the carp was first introduced into Amer- 
ica the authorities very properly stated that it 
was a highly esteemed fish in Germany and other 
parts of Europe ; that it was very prolific, easily 
cared for, suitable for warm sluggish waters, 
and specially adapted to pond culture. There 
was an instant and widespread demand for the 
new importation. Farmers who had duck- 
ponds, built perhaps three quarters of a century 
before and never cleaned, stocked them with 
carp. Others built for their reception dams 
across streams on their bog-lands, without tak- 
ing the trouble to clear away the mud. Almost 
any muck-hole containing a few hundred gallons 
of water was considered fit to be utilised. 



CAEP CULTUEE 73 

The craze, for such only can it be called, 
spread rapidly without any pretence of method 
or intelligence until ' ' almost every farmer had a 
carp pond in his front yard, back yard, barn 
yard, or somewhere." The crash came when 
the fish were large enough to be killed. As 
might be expected they were inedible. Their 
flesh fairly reeked with a smell and a taste of 
filth. The disgusted farmers tore down their 
dams and liberated the fish with blackened char- 
acters into the public waters. 

Unquestionably the carp is inferior to almost 
every other fish native to waters like those of 
Pennsylvania, but it is equally certain that if, 
when it was first introduced into this country, 
fish-culture had been advanced as far as it is 
to-day, carp-farming would probably be a recog- 
nised industry, yielding in the aggregate a huge 
sum of money annually. As it is, a revulsion 
of sentiment is slowly but surely taking place in 
favour of this importation as a food-fish. 

Market Value. — The carp undisputably holds 
an important place in the market. It is worth 
several hundred thousand dollars a year to the 
state of Illinois. Over 40,000 pounds, two- 



74 FISH CULTURE 

thirds of which come from other states, are sold 
weekly in the markets of Philadelphia, while 
5,000,000 pounds are disposed of yearly in New 
York. A five-pound live carp will sometimes 
bring more in Philadelphia or New York than 
a Delaware River roe-shad of the same weight. 
Almost the entire industry in America to-day 
depends on the carp caught from the rivers and 
lakes, although a large proportion are held in 
temporary ponds and pens before being sent to 
market. 

There is reason to believe that if states now 
condemning this fish would recognise its market 
value, would give encouragement to its citizens 
and would instruct them in the proper methods 
of culture, capital would speedily be invested 
and carp-farming become a profitable industry, 
as it is to-day in Germany. It should become 
profitable, because the demand for carp in the 
large cities is generally greater than the supply, 
and because in the smaller cities a demand cad 
likely be made for the fish. As carp-farming is 
not generally carried on in this country, it is 
impossible to say how large a tract would be 
necessary to insure very profitable returns, but 



CAKP CULTURE 75 

probably any reasonable amount would yield 
fully as much, acre for acre, as land devoted to 
vegetable produce. This is important, since a 
carp-farm can be established on land which or- 
dinarily yields little or nothing. 

Ponds. — Hatching-houses and expensive ap- 
paratus are unnecessary. The entire business 
may be conducted by pond-culture. Mr. Leon 
J. Cole, who prepared a bulletin for the United 
States Bureau of Fisheries in 1905, entitled 
" German Carp in the United States," says: 

"A well appointed carp-cultural establishment has 
at least three kinds of ponds, each adapted for a par- 
ticular phase of industry. 

"1. Spawning ponds. — Shallow ponds in which the 
water is easily warmed by the sun and suitable for 
the spawning fish. 

"2. Raising ponds. — Ponds usually of medium size, 
to which the fry are transferred and where they are 
retained, isolated from the larger fish, until they are 
a year or two old. 

"3. Stock ponds. — Large ponds in which the fish 
are kept until they have reached a marketable size; 
this is usually considered to be when they have reached 
a weight of two and three-quarters pounds to two and 
a half pounds.' ' 



76 FISH CULTUEE 

To these Mr. Cole adds a fourth type, namely 
winter ponds, located in sheltered spots, which 
should have a depth of six to eight feet. Winter 
ponds are only necessary where the stock or 
raising ponds are not suitable for carrying fish 
from autumn to spring, that is to say, where 
the water would freeze to or nearly to the 
bottom. 

Generally, it is not wise to build any ponds 
for the cultivation of carp by damming a stream 
unless there is no possibility of a freshet. 
Should it be found cheaper, and otherwise good 
policy, to build in this manner, an artificial 
ditch should be built the whole length of the 
pond, at one side, to carry off surplus water. 
If a dam built across a pond were to break out, 
or an overflow to occur of any considerable 
depth, an almost total loss of fish would result. 
This is peculiarly the case with carp, for that 
fish more than most follows currents and 
changes in depths. If surrounding land be- 
comes submerged, for instance, nearly every 
carp will swim from the pond to the submerged 
lands. 

The third type, described by Mr. Cole as the 



CAEP CULTURE 77 

"stock-pond," should be as large in area as 
possible ; it may properly be two or more acres 
in extent. Conditions which call for restricted 
areas for other species of fish do not obtain 
with carp, on account of its proneness to follow 
currents, so that there need be hardly any 
restriction placed upon the size. It is only 
important that, apart from the wintering 
quarters or kettle, there should be at the lower 
end splash-boards or gates which can be opened 
easily to permit the water to be drawn off rap- 
idly along a race or ditch into a pool known as 
a "fish-pit," into which the carp will go and 
where they can be netted out. 

If desired, and this is recommended by Mr. 
Cole, the fish-pit can be in the pond itself at 
the place of outlet. Ditches from various parts 
of the pond lead into other ditches which are 
deeper, and these finally lead into the fish-pit 
itself whence they can be taken out with dip- 
nets. 

Care of Carp. — There ought to be at least two 
stock-ponds so that one can be annually drained, 
cleansed of sediment, and purified by the action 
of air and weather. To insure the best results 



78 FISH CULTURE 

there should be a large number of spawning- 
ponds of small size, each large enough to hold 
not more than five fish, three females and two 
males. They must also be very shallow so that 
the water may be warmed rapidly by the sun. 
Such ponds need not be more than 20 feet long, 
and eight or ten feet wide. Baising-ponds for 
advanced fry, fingerlings and yearlings, must 
of necessity be much larger, and somewhat 
deeper than spawning-ponds. They should not, 
however, be of so great an area that they can not 
be easily seined, and the fish handled quickly 
and thoroughly ; but they must be large enough 
to carry safely a number for at least one year, 
preferably two. 

To facilitate growth, the water should be 
moderately warm, mostly shallow, and the ponds 
supplied with an abundance of aquatic vegeta- 
tion. A large volume of water is not essential, 
but enough to insure proper aeration and to pre- 
vent too high a temperature is necessary. Con- 
trary to widespread belief there can be an ex- 
cessive water-temperature, even for carp. 

Eudolph Hessel, in his work "The Carp and 
Its Culture in Eivers and Lakes and Its Intro- 



CARP CULTURE 79 

Auction into America,' ' says that the inflow of 
water into the pond should never be allowed to 
be direct; as, for instance, a brook falling into 
it. "This often causes the water to rise at an 
inopportune time, carrying into the pond other 
fishes, especially the rapacious pike. The carp 
also has the disposition to swim towards the in- 
flowing water, by which means it is drawn away 
from its proper feeding place/ ' If this is cor- 
rect, and from the investigation of Mr. Cole it 
appears to be, then the inflow should be so ar- 
ranged as not unduly to attract the fish to the 
spot. 

Kinds of Carp. — There are three well defined 
species of introduced carp more or less common 
in American waters ; namely the leather, mirror, 
and scale carp. The leather carp is dis- 
tinguished by its having no scales, or only a 
few on its back, but, instead, a thick soft skin, 
velvety to the touch. The mirror has three or 
four rows of very large scales on its sides, the 
rows being separated by a scaleless skin. The 
scale carp is completely covered with scales, and 
is neither more nor less than a developed form 
of the original species. All three are rapid 



80 FISH CULTURE 

growers, attaining heavy weights and having the 
reputation of great longevity. Specimens 
weighing from 20 to 25 pounds are not uncom- 
mon, and occasionally there are found some, 
particularly of the mirror carp, which will turn 
the scales at 40 pounds. In water of ordinary 
temperature carp will acquire a weight of from 
three to three and a half pounds when three 
years old, and where the water is warmer they 
sometimes reach it in a year or two. 

Spawning Habits. — In the warmer parts of 
the United States carp begin spawning as early 
as April, but in the Middle States not until May 
and June. Under ordinary circumstances they 
require three years to reach maturity; but it 
is said that under very favourable circum- 
stances they sometimes spawn when only two 
years old. According to Robert A. Poppe, carp 
have been known to spawn when nine months 
old. Whatever the age, fish first spawning are 
from three to four pounds in weight, with a 
length of from 15 to 18 inches. The eggs are 
very small, but the number to each female is 
exceedingly large, a female weighing from four 
to live pounds yielding from 40,000 to 50,000 



CAEP CULTURE 81 

eggs. A fish of 16y 2 pounds may have over 
2,000,000. 

The carp is not a nest-building fish. The 
eggs are deposited carelessly about in shallow 
water, and then abandoned. As they are 
strongly adhesive they become firmly attached 
to the roots of grasses on the bottom wherever 
they happen to fall. They develop rapidly in 
water having a temperature of 69 degrees, and 
hatch in five or six days, but in the Middle 
States, under ordinary conditions and favour- 
able temperature, they require only about 
twelve days. 

On account of the great number of eggs pro- 
duced many breeders are not required. Into 
each spawning-pond should be placed either two 
females and one male, or three females and two 
males, constituting a " spawning party.' ' Ac- 
cording to Cole, the spawning is not confined 
to any particular time of the day, though it 
apparently takes place during the morning 
hours, probably about daylight. Mr. Hessel 
says: "The female drops only about from 400 
to 500 eggs at a time, and it will require days 
and weeks before she has given up the last egg. 



82 FISH CULTURE 

There is some doubt also as to whether the eggs 
are extruded while the fish is in motion, or, as 
is the case with the shad, whether the function 
takes place while the fish is not moving." In- 
stances have been known, however, where sev- 
eral thousand eggs were deposited at one time. 
A female carp weighing 16 pounds, in the Fair- 
mount Park Aquarium, Philadelphia, deposited 
in a single night, on one occasion, eggs esti- 
mated to number 20,000 or more. 

Mr. Cole, in writing of the spawning habits 
of the carp, makes the following assertion: — 

"I was unable to tell at what moment the actual 
spawning took place, though I observed at times that 
one of the males would work forward near the female 
until they were swimming nearly side by side, when 
he would turn somewhat on his side, and bring his 
ventral fin closer under the female. At such a time 
the body of the male usually shook with a sort of quick 
vibrating movement (though this was not always ob- 
served to be the case) and it was then, too, that the 
most violent splashing of water occurred. It is prob- 
ably at this time that the eggs were laid and fertil- 
ized.' ' Fish-culturists agree that during the actual 
spawning time the operation is accompanied by con- 
siderable splashing. 



CARP CULTURE 83 

The spawning-ponds should all have a moder- 
ately hard bottom, and if it is intended that the 
eggs are to remain for hatching where they are 
deposited, then there should be a thick growth 
of aquatic plants to which the spawn can ad- 
here. One experienced carp-culturist, however, 
kept his spawning-ponds entirely clear of plant- 
life. Instead, he had sheets of bagging ma- 
terial on which he fastened thickly bunches of 
grass and plants, and to each corner of the 
sheet he affixed a weighted pole. This contriv- 
ance he placed in the pond and then introduced 
his spawning fish. Every day he removed the 
apparatus to a pond containing no fish, so that 
the eggs adhering to it could hatch without any 
danger of their being devoured. Fresh sheets 
were then placed in the ponds with the 
spawners. 

Precautions. — There ought to be no difficulty 
in taking the eggs from the female and impreg- 
nating them artificially, in which case time and 
labour would be saved. Under some circum- 
stances these eggs could be treated the same as 
goldfish's eggs when taken artificially, that is, 
placed upon sheeting and submerged. 



84 FISH CULTURE 

After the sacs of the fish have been absorbed, 
or after they have reached a size which will 
not permit of their being retained in the spawn- 
ing-ponds longer, they must be transferred to 
the rearing-ponds. By autumn they will be 
from three to four inches long, and the follow- 
ing spring they can be sorted and placed in dif- 
ferent rearing-ponds according to size. Al- 
though not a carnivorous fish, strictly speak- 
ing, sorting into sizes is still desirable, as, when 
all are kept together in one pond, growth is not 
rapid. 

The rearing-pond should be supplied not only 
with water plants but also with large quantities 
of small crustaceans, a favourite food of the 
carp. They are especially fond of daphnia, 
hence the growth of this minute creature should 
be encouraged. But the carp is an omnivorous 
feeder, and may be given almost anything which 
comes to hand. They will eagerly devour 
bread, partly boiled potatoes, turnips, grain, or 
even chopped young corn-leaves. They will 
not disdain flesh, as they will eat both lungs and 
liver. 

When shipping to the market, if the distance 



CARP CULTURE 85 

is not too great they may be carried alive by 
laying them on wet grass and covering them 
with it. It is only necessary, it is said, to keep 
the body and gills wet. If the distance be too 
great to carry them in this manner then they 
may be transported in shallow tanks of water. 



CHAPTER VI 
WATER FOR TROUT CULTURE 

In selecting a site for a hatchery for the cul- 
tivation of trout, two conditions are to be ob- 
served — one, that there be a slope to the ground, 
and the other a spring of proper quality and 
volume, or, in lieu of the spring, a good stream 
of cold, rapidly running and clean water, and 
free from frequent flooding. The best supply 
is derived from a deep spring, since such 
springs seldom run dry, or change materially 
in volume or temperature. 

Quality of Water. — Some men suppose that 
a very large volume of water is required to suc- 
cessfully carry on a trout-hatchery, but this is 
a mistake. A moderate, steady supply of 
water of even temperature, thoroughly aerated, 
will produce as satisfactory results as a large 
body, if skillfully utilised. Nevertheless he is 
a fortunate man who owns a spring that fur- 

86 



WATEE FOR TROUT CULTURE 87 

Irishes more water than he thinks he can pos- 
sibly use. Where a spring is of small volume 
the hatchery supply may be augmented under 
certain conditions by water from a stream. 
When this course is pursued it is better that the 
flow from the stream be used for the ponds en- 
tirely, and that from the spring first for the 
hatching and nursery troughs, and then for 
ponds where the two may be mingled if found 
most convenient. It is held, indeed, by many 
fish-culturists, that while spring water is best 
for hatching trout eggs, stream water is better 
for rearing fish after they are four months old. 
Artesian or other very deep wells may be used 
for the increased supply of water. 

I am one who holds that trout-stream water 
of good volume, which can be flowed through 
ponds without causing an undue rise in tem- 
perature in summer, is better under some cir- 
cumstances than an outflow directly from a 
spring. Creek water possesses both aeration 
and animal life, and is usually a little higher 
in temperature during the best growing period 
of the trout, a very desirable feature, especially 
when the fish are in the fingerling and yearling 



88 FISH CULTUEE 

stages. Water which is at times slightly im- 
pregnated with mud of a certain character 
appears to be harmless, and often is actually 
beneficial. Spring water, however, is prefer- 
able to creek water for hatching purposes. If, 
however, it is necessary to depend on stream 
water for hatching purposes, it would be well 
to arrange some device by which it can be fil- 
tered before its entry into the hatching-house. 
Water-Supply Most Important. — Prospective 
fish-culturists should give the greatest atten- 
tion to the character of the water-supply, be- 
cause on it depends primarily success or failure. 
To be sure of its excellence is more important 
than the location of the hatchery, a heavy pitch 
in the land, or proximity to a town or a railroad 
station. An artificial pitch in the land can 
usually be created. Ponds can all, or most of 
them, be built above the ground when necessary 
to insure a proper flow and aeration through- 
out; horses or motors can in time reach the 
nearest railroad station or town; but if the 
water falls below requirements either in steady 
quantity or quality, the place is useless for a 
trout hatchery. 



WATER FOR TROUT CULTURE 89 

As an axiom, a fish-culturist should bear in 
mind that if losses occur they are almost sure 
to be wholesale and not retail, so to speak. 
Trifling changes in the character or conditions 
of the water-supply may mean the loss of every 
fish. In 1889, the Pennsylvania Fish Commis- 
sion lost over 2,000,000 advanced fry, partly be- 
cause, during a thaw after a severe snow-storm, 
a vast quantity of surface water flowed into the 
spring which supplied the hatching troughs, 
and so diminished the supply of oxygen that 
there was not sufficient to sustain the lives of 
the little creatures. Hence, when a station is 
located, it is advisable to so guard and wall in 
the spring that little or no snow, or in fact, 
surface water of any kind, can flow into it. 
What is of equal importance, drainage from 
barnyards, tanneries, or any industrial estab- 
lishments, must be carefully excluded from all 
water used, for pollution of that character is 
fatal to trout. Such pollution, indeed, is to be 
guarded against in all pisciculture. 

It is not absolutely necessary that water be 
very cold to raise trout successfully. Nor is it 
essential, as before stated, that it be of an even 



90 FISH CULTUKE 

temperature the year round, but it ought to be 
well aerated. Aeration must be more thorough 
and more carefully attended to the farther the 
water progresses towards the lower end of the 
hatchery grounds. Trout will live and grow 
and remain comparatively healthy, it is said, 
in ponds where the temperature rises on occa- 
sions to a little above seventy degrees — some 
writers say eighty degrees, provided there is 
abundant aeration ; but water of such high tem- 
perature is not to be desired. 

The warmer the water the shorter the period 
of incubation. The shorter the time of incuba- 
tion, below a certain point, the more danger 
there is of weak fish being produced. The best 
temperature for hatching trout eggs is between 
45 and 50 degrees. This will make the period 
of incubation from 45 to 60 days. A tempera- 
ture between 50 and 60 degrees is good for 
young and mature trout in the ponds. A lower 
temperature is not injurious, but when it falls 
close to the freezing point incubation is re- 
tarded sometimes from 100 to 120 days. While 
this is not injurious it is apt to give the fish- 



WATEE FOR TROUT CULTURE 91 

culturist more work, for if the water at the 
end of that time warms appreciably, the eggs 
are apt to hatch almost simultaneously. 

Limestone, otherwise called hard water, is as 
good for trout-breeding as soft, although, in 
some circumstances, more prone to encourage 
fungus, unless it should, as sometimes happens, 
contain an overplus of organic matter. A little 
iron in the water will not prove harmful, but 
some mineral substances are undesirable, and 
in large quantities fatal; for example, a sul- 
phur impregnation is likely to prove hurtful, as 
also is very much iron. 

A limestone spring may prove dangerous 
apart from its mineral qualities for a reason 
unsuspected by those who have not had expe- 
rience with one of that type and its possible 
vagaries. This danger is the liability of the 
underground stream which feeds the spring to 
suddenly change its course, abandon its outlet 
and seek another. A change of this kind may 
occur as the result of an attempt to raise the 
body of the spring by damming it, thus increas- 
ing the weight and pressure on the channel 



92 FISH CULTURE 

which tlie subterranean stream Has dissolved 
out of the limestone beneath until it breaks 
through some thin partition and flows else- 
where. 



CHAPTER VII 

TROUT PONDS AND HOW TO BUILD 
THEM 

One vital requirement in selecting a site for 
a trout-breeding establishment is that water 
can be carried into the hatching-house at such 
a height as to permit a flow through the 
troughs, allow drainage from the building and 
at the same time supply the ponds. There must 
therefore be some fall of land away from the 
spring or intake. 

The degree of fall needed depends on how 
the troughs are to be set in the hatching-house, 
and the manner of building the ponds. If only 
one row of troughs is to be used, a decided pitch 
is immaterial because they may be placed upon 
the floor, in which case a fall of two feet will 
be sufficient; for troughs in two tiers, 3% feet 
from the flow will meet the requirements ; if the 
water is to be used three times, by employing 

93 



94 FISH CULTUEE 

three tiers, the fall must be nearly five feet. It 
is now considered immaterial whether the 
ponds are below or above the natural surface, 
so long as the water can be successfully brought 
into the first set of ponds and from thence in 
a well aerated condition to those below. The 
more quickly the water can be passed through 
the better, provided a proper volume be not ex- 
ceeded, particularly where fingerlings are being 
held. 

Planning an Establishment. — There must 
be at least five ponds for the smallest establish- 
ment; one for the advanced fry or fingerlings, 
on their removal from the nursery troughs, a 
second in which to place fingerlings after they 
have been sorted in the summer; a third for 
yearlings; a fourth for two-year-olds and a 
fifth for three-year-olds and over, providing 
such fish are to be retained. If the plant is to 
be of any considerable size, the location and type 
of the whole series of ponds ought to be well 
considered and planned, even though there be 
no intention of building some of them for sev- 
eral years. They should be as carefully con- 
sidered and planned as a house. 



TEOUT PONDS 95 

Unless the supply of water is to all intents 
and purposes unlimited, the water should never 
be " split," or divided into more series of ponds 
than can possibly be avoided. If with a limited 
supply splitting is unavoidable it is important 
that the water be reunited into a single series 
of ponds in the shortest distance, even though 
splitting again be required, because any ap- 
preciable diminution of the volume of flow is 
likely to cause a rise in temperature and con- 
sequent loss in the "life" of the water. 

Shape and Size. — The shape of ponds should 
be such that the current may flow through in 
such a manner as to leave the least amount of 
dead water ; and also it is desirable to adopt a 
shape which will permit of easy netting. A 
rectangular pond, whether square or oblong, is 
not the best, therefore, for fulfilment of both re- 
quirements, yet it is the one most easily and 
cheaply built ; the ground space is best utilised ; 
and this is unquestionably the best form when 
a "nest," or series, of ponds is to be built at the 
same time or in the near future. Oblong ponds 
with rounded ends are even better. 

Ponds constructed in nests or groups and fed 



96 FISH CULTUEE 

from a common open race or sluice are most 
desirable for many reasons. They are more 
easily worked and attended and, what is much 
to be desired, a simple drainage system can be 
more easily provided. In this way also there 
can be more ponds, with a less amount of water 
per minute than when built separately. Al- 
ways, in laying out ponds, care should be taken 
to make them suitable for various sizes and 
ages of trout, and to arrange them with a view 
not only to their being worked conveniently but 
also for the advantageous growth of fish. 

Ponds for trout which have arrived at full 
maturity can be built nearest the spring or 
where the water is coldest, because, having at- 
tained their growth, warmer water is no longer 
desired, and also because fish three or more 
years old naturally spawn before the two-year- 
olds, and cold water has a tendency to retard 
the ripening of their eggs. The longer this 
function can be delayed within reason, the bet- 
ter are the chances for hatching healthy young. 

It is advisable to construct ponds for two- 
year-olds next ; those for yearlings still farther 
away; and those for fingerlings and nursery 




METHODS OF SHADING TROUT PONDS. 



TROUT PONDS 97 

fish where the water is the warmest, so as to 
advance their growth as rapidly as possible. 
Ponds for fingerlings should be so constructed 
that the water-supply may be augmented and 
decreased at will. No pond, however, should 
be built at such a distance from the intake that 
the temperature of the water would be so high 
as to render necessary a very heavy volume, as 
that is not good for trout in the first year of 
their lives. 

Shading. — There ought to be a generous 
space between at least every other pond so that 
trees may be planted. Trees not only keep 
the water cool in hot summer days, but also are 
useful in that they breed insects which fall into 
the water and furnish food for the fish. Wil- 
lows are probably the best trees to plant for 
this purpose, because of their rapidity of 
growth, because their leaves do not make so 
much dirt in the ponds as most other trees, and 
because their long drooping branches and 
slender leaves act as a fan, thus producing a 
cool breeze on the hottest day in summer. The 
only objection to the willow is that the fine 
roots force their way in sponge-like masses 



98 FISH CULTURE 

through the banks of the ponds; but this does 
not occur when the sides are of concrete or of 
well kept boarding. 

While, strictly speaking, appliances for shad- 
ing ponds may seem to come in the chapter de- 
tailing methods of caring for fish out-doors, 
rather than in one of pond construction, I feel 
that it is well to mention it here. A common 
method is to lay 3-by-4 studding across a pond 
near the middle, about five feet apart, and nail 
inch-boards thereon. This method is doubtless 
as effective as any other but it is neither sightly 
nor durable, as such a structure speedily be- 
comes rotten and is soon likely to break under 
weights of snow. The best shade-covers for 
ponds of ordinary size for mature fish are made 
by building a double pitched roof of lumber. 
Snow cannot break this down, and it is easier 
to work the net beneath it. Such a roof should 
cover the middle third of the pond at least ; my 
experience has been that fingerlings in the nurs- 
ery did much better when the entire pond was 
covered and the fish kept in nearly complete 
'darkness. 

Sides and Bottoms. — There is much discus- 



TEOUT PONDS 99 

sion as to what it is best to do with the sides 
of the trout-ponds. Many fish-culturists ad- 
vocate "going back to nature," as they express 
it, — that is to have natural banks without walls 
or stays of any kind. There are, however, obvi- 
ously many objections to doing this, except 
where ponds are nearly if not quite half an 
acre in extent, among which are exposure to 
the ravages of the crayfish, muskrats and other 
burrowing creatures, and the danger of the 
earth sliding in early spring, when the frost 
comes out of the ground. 

I cannot see that the advantages of natural 
sides are equal to the disadvantages. A very 
common practice is to construct the sides of 
inch-boards nailed to stays of 2-by-4 lumber and 
posts, and this does well if the lumber is given 
a good coating of tar when first built, renewed 
every two or three years. Tar is harmless to 
the fish when dried before the water is turned 
in, and is a foe to many fungoids. Sides made 
of lumber, however, are neither as sightly nor 
as enduring as walls made of cement, which 
is nearly as cheap as lumber and sometimes 
cheaper. Occasionally, where the soil affords a 



100 FISH CULTURE 

poor foundation, it is not feasible to use cement, 
in which case hollow building-tile is strongly 
recommended; blocks 24 inches long, 8 inches 
wide and 6 inches thick may be used success- 
fully, and will form a wall as durable and 
attractive as cement. If a pond is only about 
two or three feet deep the tile can be set in 
concrete on edge, making a six-inch wall; when 
the water is deeper, and the sub-soil very mucky, 
the tile must be laid sidewise, making an eight- 
inch wall. Stone is sometimes used for sides, 
but unless faced with cement it affords hiding 
places for crayfish, snakes, and other undesir- 
able creatures, and also refuges for trout when 
netting a pond. 

Now and then a fish-culturist will advocate 
covering the bottom of a pond with concrete or 
boards. I have seen both in hatcheries where 
fish-culture is conducted on the latest scientific 
principles. In some I have seen fish doing ap- 
parently well and in others I have seen them 
dying by the hundreds. I feel, therefore, that 
there is enough doubt to make it inadvisable to 
use either when it can be avoided. There are 
certain soils where artificial bottoms must be 



TROUT PONDS 101 

used to prevent an undue quantity of water 
from leeching through and escaping; and my 
advice is to cover the artificial bottoms in such 
cases with at least six inches of heavy gravel. 

There may be rare instances, where, in dig- 
ging ponds, an area of ooze-mud of considerable 
depth is encountered, greater than can be re- 
moved. In such a contingency, dig the pond a 
foot or two deeper, and then dump in many 
loads of coarse gravel, sufficient to make an 
even layer at least a foot thick. This will prob- 
ably settle and bind in a few days, and make 
a fairly firm bottom. This, of course, need not 
be done where a bottom can be floored with con- 
crete or boards. 

Indeed, the bottoms of all ponds should be 
well graveled, but care must be exercised that 
none of the stones are larger, say, than a man's 
fist or projecting much above the ordinary level. 
There are two reasons for this, first, an irreg- 
ular bottom is hard to draw, and second, with 
large projecting stones there is danger that 
after a severe thunderstorm the fish-culturist 
may find that he has lost a large number of his 
trout. 



102 FISH CULTURE 

A number of years ago the Pennsylvania Fish Com- 
mission had over 300 rainbow and brown trout killed 
in its ponds in Allentown during a single thunder- 
storm. At no time did the lightning strike nearer 
than a quarter of a mile from the ponds. A former 
manager of the Penn Forest Brook Trout Company, 
a commercial establishment near Mauch Chunk, Pa., 
informed me that during a severe thunderstorm more 
than 400 pounds of trout were killed by lightning. 
As long as the trout are swimming free in the water 
no harm to them will result, but if any fish happens 
to be on the bottom touching larger stones, and light- 
ning should strike the ground anywhere within a 
quarter of a mile or so, the fish would either be 
stunned or killed. The true trouts are more liable 
to injury from lightning than the brook- trout, because 
the former are more likely to rest on the bottom. 

Size and Depth. — The size and depth of the 
ponds remain to be considered. These factors 
mnst depend mainly on the water-supply, and 
upon the purposes for which each pond is in- 
tended. I prefer ponds of moderate size, and 
believe for mature fish the deeper they are the 
better, so long as they are not too deep for 
handling. Those for advanced fry and finger- 
lings should be shallower. An ideal pond for 
advanced fry might be, say, 25 feet long, about 



TROUT PONDS 103 

6 feet wide, and of a depth to allow from 18 
inches to two feet of water. A pond for year- 
lings and two-year-olds, may be about 40 to 50 
feet long, 14 wide, and about three feet in depth. 
One for older fish might be from 50 to 100 feet 
long, from 15 to 20 feet wide, and about 4 feet 
deep, excepting in the circumstances stated 
later in this chapter. Where it is not desired 
to rear trout beyond the age of two years ; the 
largest pond mentioned would be used for the 
oldest fish, and the second size for fish from six 
or eight months to one year old. Livingston 
Stone, a well-known authority on trout-culture, 
advised with sound sense that the smaller the 
water-supply the smaller should be the ponds. 
"If," says he, "your water-supply is small and 
liable to heat up, make the pond narrow and 
deep, — a deep ditch." 

Where the trout-breeding establishment is 
for commercial purposes exclusively it is well 
to have one or more ponds half an acre or so 
in extent, sloping to a depth of eight to ten 
feet at the lower end. Such a pond will hold an 
almost incredible number of fish, and require 
less attention than smaller ponds. 



104 FISH CULTUKE 

Raceways. — There has been a tendency in 
recent years for fish-culturists to abandon race- 
ways, owing to a well grounded belief that 
ponds in nests or groups yield better results; 
but wherever ponds are built separately I would 
advise the making of raceways, even if they be 
not intended for the use of spawning fish, be- 
cause thus the shallow, rapidly running water 
becomes well aerated before entering the pond. 
Where the supply of water is not scanty, the 
raceway might be from three to five feet wide, 
not less than 20 feet long, and with a depth of 
from six to eight inches. The bottom should be 
thickly covered with clean coarse gravel, both 
for aerating purposes and to attract the fish 
from the ponds when they are ripe enough to 
spawn. The sides must be of carefully set 
boards, concrete, or building-tile, and so ar- 
ranged that the whole raceway can be covered 
from end to end in order to exclude the light 
during spawning season. At the upper end or 
entrance there must, of course, be a screen to 
prevent the fish from going past a certain point 
or into the pond above. At the bottom there 
should be a gate, kept open except when the 




INTAKE FOR A TROUT POND. 




j^BI^M^Hi 



A DAM AND A COVERED RACEWAY. 



TROUT PONDS 105 

culturist is about to take out the fish which have 
gathered in the race for the purpose of express- 
ing the eggs and milt. A raceway is especially 
good for the beginner in trout-culture, because 
few excepting ripe fish enter it at spawning 
time, hence he does not need to handle the stock 
in the pond so frequently in order to secure 
those fit for spawning. 

When the spawning season is over the cover 
should be removed from the raceway and put 
away in the storage house until wanted again 
the next year, so that the raceway can have the 
full benefit of light and air in order to fulfil one 
of its functions, namely, that of aeration. 

Implements needed at a Hatchery. — A well 
equipped trout-hatchery will possess all the 
usual implements for digging, hauling, and out- 
side labour, including long-handled shovels, 
picks, scoops, wheelbarrows, wagons and carts, 
a roller, mason's implements, carpenter's tools, 
etc. An essential implement is a measuring- 
board, in order to get ground-levels. A 16-foot 
board, planed, trued, and provided with a spirit- 
level, will be found a fair and cheap substitute 
for regular surveyor's instruments. Other 



106 FISH CULTUEE 

tools and implements specially needed for 
hatchery work are an assortment of buckets, 
both wooden and tin, for carrying water, fish, 
thick milk, chopped meat, and so forth; also 
washtubs for carrying large fish from one pond 
to another, for holding spawning fish when first 
taken from the raceways or ponds, and for 
many other purposes. 

I have found that the ordinary milk can with 
a round hole, about the size of a quarter of a 
dollar, will answer as well for shipping fish by 
railroad as any specially designed shipping- 
can. It would be well, however, to have 
the bottom changed to a convex form, as when 
the bottom is concave trout are apt to crowd 
into the centre, sometimes to their detriment. 
A long narrow can, similar to what is generally 
known as the combination Philadelphia and 
New York pattern, seems to be better than one 
short in height but large in circumference. It 
has the advantage of taking up less room in a 
car, which fact will appeal to any one who has 
many fish to send away by railroad. Cans con- 
taining twenty and thirty quarts each are the 
most desirable in size. For transporting 



TROUT PONDS 107 

larger fish oval cans specially made are the 
best. 

As an accompaniment to shipping-cans, there 
must be a device which messengers can use for 
the aeration of the water while fish are being 
taken on the railroad journey. The national 
government and some of the states maintain 
fish-cars with complete aerating apparatus, but 
this is not feasible for a commercial establish- 
ment, and some other means of aeration must 
be utilized, the best of which is a tin dip- 
per, with a bowl shaped like that of a milk 
dipper, with the opening covered with a fine- 
mesh wire netting, and with a straight han- 
dle. 

What seems to be the best hand-aerating apparatus 
yet devised was recently invented by an assistant of 
Mr. Lydell, Superintendent of the Mill Creek (Michi- 
gan) State Hatchery. It consists of a cylinder of tin 
with removable perforated bottoms of different sizes. 
A valve worked by the finger allows the apparatus 
to be pressed to the bottom of the can where the valve 
is released and the cylinder filled with dead water. 
Another pressure of the finger closes the valve, the 
cylinder is lifted into the air, and the valve once more 
released, allowing the water to fall back through the 



108 FISH CULTURE 

perforations in the bottom. The principle is good, 
since it allows the water in the bottom, which is in the 
poorest condition, to be taken out and aerated. There 
is no patent on the apparatus and all who will may use 
it. Another useful device is a tin cylinder about two 
feet long, three inches in diameter, having a fixed 
handle at the top and the bottom pointed like a lead 
pencil. The pointed end is thickly perforated. To 
aerate with this, plunge the pointed end to the bot- 
tom, and then withdraw it, allowing the water to run 
back into the can through the perforations. 

Thermometers are among the useful instru- 
ments needed, although messengers and men 
about the hatchery should be taught to guess 
closely the water-temperature by feeling with 
the hand. By dint of practice the average 
hatchery-man can estimate temperature very 
nearly. 

A meat-grinder, for grinding liver and lungs 
for fish-food, is indispensable. It must, how- 
ever, have a number of discs with perforations 
of varying diameters so as to cut meat of dif- 
ferent degrees of coarseness. If the hatching 
establishment is of considerable size it will be 
almost necessary to operate the grinder by 
power. This can be done by erecting a small 



TROUT PONDS 109 

building over the stream of waste water at the 
lower end of the property and setting up an 
undershot waterwheel. The same building 
could also be utilised as an icehouse and a re- 
frigerator for meat. 

In connection with the meat-grinder there 
should be an assortment of perforated tins for 
pressing liver through them to make a paste 
of requisite thinness for advanced fry. A 
liver-pulverising block is a part of this impor- 
tant contrivance. The block is made of wood, 
well sand-papered, just large enough to be held 
comfortably in both hands, and with the thick 
end bevelled so as easily to catch and crush 
liver through the perforated tin. 

Pudding pans of tin or agate ware of dif- 
ferent sizes, for holding eggs and liquid liver- 
paste for feeding the fry, must always be kept 
on hand. Also a soft-rubber bulb attached to 
a hard-rubber tube, for picking out dead eggs, 
and for feeding fry while in the troughs. 

Some fish-culturists use wooden pickers ex- 
clusively for egg work, but in Pennsylvania the 
superintendents of the state hatcheries aban- 
doned them years ago for a rubber bulb, which 



110 FISH CULTURE 

they believed to be tbe much more safely and 
just as easily manipulated. Such a bulb can be 
procured at any drug store by asking for an 
infant syringe, and a little practice will enable 
a man to pick up eggs with great rapidity and 
skill. 

The bulb is undoubtedly far superior to a 
spoon or feather for feeding advanced fry, en- 
abling the work to be done in half the time and 
more thoroughly. There must also be con- 
stantly about the place a bundle of turkey 
feathers for feathering eggs and fry in the 
troughs, besides small scap nets, fine-meshed 
seines, long-handled scoop-nets and other nets 
necessary for handling fish. There must also 
be a liberal supply of wire-mesh for egg-trays, 
which is tacked on wooden frames a trifle nar- 
rower than the interior width of the hatching 
trough. It is also necessary to keep on hand 
several bags of salt, and bags of cement for 
emergency work. Galvanised wire-netting of 
various sizes for screens, and a barrel of tar 
and brushes of several sizes and styles should 
be conveniently at hand. 



CHAPTEE VIII 

CONSTRUCTION OF A TROUT-HATCH- 
ERY 

An appropriate building for the hatching of 
eggs is necessary unless trout-propagation is 
to be conducted on such a scale as to be scarcely 
worthy the name. 

Certain conditions must be observed to in- 
sure success — conditions as important as the 
location of the ponds or the character of the 
water. First and foremost the building must 
be located in such a manner that water can flow 
through the supply-trough so as to give a good 
head and flow freely into all the hatching 
troughs, and also so that there will be perfect 
drainage from the hatchery into the sewer or 
the ponds outside. It must not be so far away 
from the spring as to allow much change in 
the temperature of the water, or if it must be 
very far from the source of supply then the 

111 



112 FISH CULTURE 

pipes leading to it should be so built or pro- 
tected as to keep as nearly uniform a tempera- 
ture as possible. The size of the bouse is of 
course conditioned upon tbe size of the plant, 
the character of the troughs, and whether it is 
intended to carry fish beyond the fry stage, 
and well into the advanced-fry stage, or even 
through it to the fingerling stage. 

If the hatching-house is to be for a club that 
intends to propagate only sufficient fish to 
stock its holdings, or for an individual who 
wishes to do business on a moderate scale, 
chiefly for his own consumption, a building 20 
feet long, 12 feet wide, 7 feet to the eaves, and 
with either a double-pitch or lean-to roof will 
answer the purpose. Such a building will hold 
two sets, or four troughs, each 14 feet long, and 
will have a capacity for 100,000 fry, which can 
be held in the building through the advanced-fry 
stage, and, indeed, until summer. It will also 
allow sufficient room for the meat-grinding ma- 
chine, a table on which to pulverise liver and 
do other work, and a stove, besides a little ad- 
ditional room in which to move round. 

If business is to be done on a large scale and 



TROUT-HATCHERIES 113 

it is not intended to hold fish much beyond the 
fry stage, in other words to get rid of them as 
soon as they have become advanced fry, either 
by planting, sale, or depositing in outside nurs- 
ery-ponds, then the smallest house which can 
be considered will be 50 feet long, by 20 feet 
wide, using the same type of trough just de- 
scribed. This will accommodate, with outside 
trough attachments or nursery-ponds, between 
2,000,000 and 3,000,000 fish of advanced-fry 
stage and the smaller sizes of fingerlings. Yet 
a house of this size is small for the work named, 
and entails a great deal of disagreeable outside 
work in February and March, so that it would 
be better if larger, so as to avoid having any 
outside troughs. 

Construction of a Good House. — To my mind 
the ideal hatching-house for trout, taking into 
consideration compactness, no waste room, and 
a minimum amount of water, is one which is 
100 feet long and 40 feet wide. Such a house 
will easily provide accommodations for 3,000,- 
000 advanced fry and fingerlings to No. 2 size. 
If it is necessary, and the fish-culturist be skilled 
and bold, he can carry 5,000,000 of advanced fry 



114 FISH CULTURE 

and No. 1 fingerlings, but the latter not very 
long, and such a number would mean unremit- 
ting care, and attention from early morning un- 
til late at night. Such a house will hold 60 
double or 120 single troughs if set in three tiers, 
and will require only 120 gallons of water. To 
build a house of this type there must be a fall 
from the spring or stream sufficient to permit 
of there being about five feet from the supply- 
trough to the floor of the house, certainly not 
less than four feet. It can be built of frame, 
with stone, concrete, or building-tile founda- 
tion, and completely equipped, at a cost of from 
$1,600 to $2,400, depending upon the price of 
materials. 

A gambrel roof will be found cheaper than a 
double-pitch roof, and probably present a better ap- 
pearance. The side walls should be not less than eight 
feet from the top of the foundation walls to the eaves, 
but a more imposing appearance will be given if the 
walls are ten or twelve feet to the eaves. There 
should be no inside pillars or posts, as they would be 
in the way of the workmen, consequently the roof 
must be supported by trusses. Five trusses will be 
sufficient for a house 100 feet long. The simplest and 
cheapest form is the single railroad truss. The bot- 



TEOUT-HATCHERIES 115 

torn beams of the truss, which of course are 40 feet 
long, may be made of boards six inches wide, and one 
inch thick, of different lengths, spiked together so that 
when completed there will be a solid beam 40 feet 
long, six inches wide and six inches thick. This will 
often be found cheaper than a solid beam of that size, 
and just as effective. The top beam of the truss, 
which is of course very much shorter, may be made 
of the same material if desired. The stays, however, 
should be of solid timber, 6 by 8, with two heavy iron 
stays or rods, bolted both above and below. The stud- 
ding may be of 2-by-4 lumber, but for the other tim- 
bers forming the skeleton it would be best to consult 
a carpenter. The sides may be of what is called 
Dutch siding. I have found no urgent necessity for 
air spaces or paper or inside stripping. 

Spring water, when run into a hatching- 
house, being warmer in the winter than the sur- 
rounding atmosphere, will very likely throw off 
a heavy mist, which will make work in the hatch- 
ing house disagreeable ; but the mist can be dis- 
sipated by having three or four ventilators in 
the apex of the roof. I would not advise venti- 
lators the entire length of the building, since 
they allow snow to enter and keep the house un- 
comfortably cold. 

The house should be liberally provided with 



116 FISH CULTURE 

broad windows so that the building can be well 
lighted in the daytime; but these should have 
either solid inside shutters or be provided with 
curtains, so that the interior of the building may 
be darkened when desired. Darkness, or rather 
gloom, is an important factor in the successful 
hatching of eggs and rearing of fry. It is well 
to have at each end of the building doors wide 
enough to permit even bulky objects to be taken 
in and out. Of course all the outside lumber 
should be planed so that the building can be 
painted. It is poor economy not to be liberal 
with paint, to say nothing of an unsightly ap- 
pearance ; and thought should be given to taste- 
ful colors, avoiding white. 

Arrangement of Troughs. — For a building of 
this size the troughs had better be set in three 
tiers if it is at all possible to do so, which will 
permit the use of 120 troughs and a maximum 
of 120 gallons of water per minute. If this 
method is adopted the water is conducted into 
the building at the upper end and on one side 
of the house, and flowed into either an iron sup- 
ply-pipe or wooden supply-trough 12 inches 
wide and 14 inches deep, which extends the 




- 



TEOUT-HATCHEEIES 117 

entire length of the one side of the house. 

By three tiers of troughs is meant three sets 
one below the other, with the water flowing from 
the supply-trough into the upper end of the first 
set, from the lower end of the first set into 
the upper end of the second set, from the lower 
end of the second into the upper end of the 
third, and from the lower end of the third into 
the sewer or drain. By this method the water 
is used three times before it is discharged 
from the house, and each gallon of water will 
be equal to three gallons. In setting the tiers 
or sets, the upper end of the second should pro- 
ject a couple of inches under the lower end of 
the first and the upper end of the third a cou- 
ple of inches under the lower end of the sec- 
ond tier. 

It would also be well to set the second tier 
only about two inches below the lower end of 
the first tier and to set the third tier about an 
inch above the floor; then there will be a con- 
siderable fall from the outlet of the second tier 
into the third tier, and this will aerate the wa- 
ter. The troughs should not be set exactly on 
a level. The lower end ought to be from half 



118 FISH CULTUEE 

an inch to an inch lower than the upper end; 
but the lower end of the supply-trough should 
be not more than an inch below the upper end 
or intake. 

For a 40-feet-wide house equipped with three 
tiers, each set of troughs can only be 12 feet 
long ; this will allow a four-foot walk the whole 
length of the opposite side of the house. The 
troughs are made in pairs and of lumber one 
inch thick when dressed, 33 inches wide outside 
measurement, with a one-inch division-board 
down the centre, making two troughs each 15 
inches inside measurement. They are usually 
eight inches deep, but may be 10 inches to ad- 
vantage. 

At the lower end of each trough, if two or 
more tiers are used, there must be bored two 
holes, one in the centre and one at the side, 
each not less than one inch in diameter. One 
is to carry the water from one trough to the 
other; and the other to be used only when the 
trough is being cleaned, at all other times being 
kept plugged. Six inches from the end, and 
above the hole, two cleats are set on each side, 
three-fourths of an inch apart, and two others 



TROUT-HATCHERIES 119 

nailed across the bottom. In this is set a wire 
screen, 14 or 16 rnesh to the inch, to keep small 
fish from passing through. Two inches below 
is fastened another set of cleats in which are 
placed pieces of wood, two inches wide, each to 
form a dam, and when in use to tighten it. 
The bottom and sides should be filled with stiff 
clay. 

The water is carried from the supply-trough 
into the hatching-troughs by means of faucets, 
and a wooden spigot is not dependable. One 
of the various makes of cast-iron molasses- 
faucets should be selected and the most costly 
is the best. It is well to be particular about 
this, because while the idea is generally ex- 
ploded that any more than a certain quantity 
of water will burst the egg or the sac of the 
fry, it is essential for many other reasons to 
be able to regulate the flow accurately and 
without danger of something happening to 
change the amount which has been set. 

Before being used, the inside of all the 
troughs should be given a heavy coat of tar, in 
which a little litharge should be mixed to has- 
ten the drying; and the outside should be 



120 FISH CULTURE 

painted. I have heard fish-culturists complain 
that tar is injurious and that it had killed their 
fish; but I am satisfied from my own experi- 
ence, as well as that of most fish-culturists, that 
this is a mistake; indeed tar may be esteemed 
beneficial, since it is a germ destroyer. Black 
asphaltum paint, however, may be safely used, 
if tar is not easily available. 

Surprise may be expressed by some persons 
that I have not advocated the use of heavier 
lumber than one inch for the construction of 
hatching-troughs of the type described. It 
has not been many years since it was claimed 
to be unsafe to use lumber less than two inches 
thick on account of jarring, but I have found 
no ill results following the use of one-inch lum- 
ber, and I have superintended the hatching and 
distributing annually of from 7,000,000 to 
13,000,000 trout ; furthermore the average hatch 
from the eggs taken from the brood-fish in the 
hatcheries has been regularly over 90 per cent. 

The ends of the trough may be flush, there 
being no necessity for dovetailing. The 
troughs can be made perfectly water-tight by 
making a scratch the whole length of the bot- 



TROUT-HATCHERIES 121 

torn board, stretching a piece of string dipped 
in white lead along it, and then nailing on the 
sides. Dovetailing is unnecessary and expen- 
sive. 

The stands on which the troughs are set 
should be of heavy lumber not easily moved, 
and of the best quality, either white pine or 
cypress, rejecting any lumber where knots com- 
pletely penetrate the board, for it will leak. 

The floor of the hatching-house should be of 
concrete, and a ditch be made the whole length 
of the house, between the walk and lower end 
of the third tier of troughs, to carry the water 
into a sewer or a pipe conducting it to outside 
ponds. There should also be a slope of about 
an inch from the foundation wall on which the 
supply-trough rests to the ditch, and there 
should also be a slight concavity under each 
set of troughs for drainage to the ditch. 

If the business is to be conducted on a huge scale, 
and a vast number of eggs are to be sold, then, be- 
sides the troughs described, it would be well to have 
an egg-hatching trough of the Clark, Clark- William- 
son, or some similar pattern. The United States 
Bureau of Fisheries gives this description of the 



122 FISH CULTUEE 

Clark hatching box: — "A tank 15 feet long with 
a partition running its entire length and so placed 
that its lower end rests upon the upper end of a 
similar one 13 feet long, which differs from the upper 
one only in that it contains two boxes less. Nine par- 
titions placed crosswise of the tank form, with the 
lengthwise partitions, a double row of compartments, 
each of which is 19J inches long, and 15J inches wide, 
and is provided with a waste-water channel or sluice- 
way leading into the next compartment. In these 
compartments are placed the hatching boxes.' ' 

The Clark box is 18 inches long, 14 inches wide, 
and 9J inches deep, and is made from three-quarter- 
inch dressed white-pine lumber. On its under side 
the box is provided with short feet to allow a free 
circulation of water under it and to prevent it from 
resting on any sediment or refuse that may be de- 
posited on the bottom of the tank; and on the inside 
of each bottom corner is fastened a thin block to sup- 
port the trays. Five small auger-holes permit the 
escape of water from the box. A slot is cut in one 
end of the box, so that the water from the compart- 
ment above cannot flow into the one below without 
falling into and passing through this box. Upon the 
feet or risers inside the box rest nine trays, made of 
perforated zinc, or fine wire netting, tacked upon a 
pine frame 16 inches long, and 12 inches wide. The 
trays are placed one upon the other, in the box, the 



TROUT-HATCHERIES 123 

end of which contains the slot fitting snugly against 
the upper end of the compartment in which is fitted 
a tin over-flow. The whole is held in place by a 
cross-bar or binder, which fits in grooves cut in both 
sides of the tank. The binder, which rests upon the 
box, keeps it from rising in the water, and is provided 
with feet so placed as to prevent the trays from float- 
ing in the box itself. Each tray is capable of holding 
5,000 brook-trout eggs, the ninth or top tray being 
used only as a cover. There are several other types 
of purely egg-hatching troughs or boxes, the general 
principle of all being a series of dams, the water flow- 
ing alternately over and under. These troughs, how- 
ever, are for hatching or eyeing eggs only, and are 
not suitable for carrying fry or advanced fry. 

Suggestions. — If the water-supply is from a 
deep spring, there will be no need for a stove 
or heating apparatus in the hatching-house, ex- 
cept to permit the men to warm their hands 
after having them in the cold water for some 
time, as the spring water, averaging say from 
45 to 50 degrees of warmth, will keep the house 
fairly comfortable. If the water is creek water 
then it may be necessary to have a heating ap- 
paratus to give some warmth to the building; 



124 FISH CULTUKE 

but it is not well to keep the temperature of the 
house very high, because it has a tendency 
to raise the temperature of the water. 

It will also be well to have a small building 
with plenty of shelving attached to the hatch- 
ing-house as a sort of workshop and a place in 
which to keep the smaller implements and in 
which to make the liver paste. The wisdom of 
such a building will be apparent at once to any 
one who has had anything to do with rearing 
fish, or remembers how things will accumulate 
and get in the way of the workmen, or become 
lost, when there is no set place for them. 

Absolute cleanliness in the hatching-house is 
very necessary. Carelessness in this respect 
may cause trouble and loss of fish. It must be 
remembered that impurities in the water are as 
fatal to trout as filth is to human beings. 

It may in some cases be impracticable or 
not desirable to set the troughs in two or more 
tiers, in which case the hatching-house may be 
32 feet wide with two sets of supply troughs, 
one on each side of the house, each trough being 
14 feet long; or a house may be 20 feet wide, 
with one set of troughs each 16 feet long. The 



TKOUT-HATCHEBIES 125 

walk ought to be four feet wide, and the width 
of the house and the length of the trough he 
made to conform thereto; but as lumber is cut 
in lengths of 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 feet, one of 
these should be adopted to save waste. 



CHAPTER IX 

TAKING AND FERTILISING TROUT 
EGGS 

As, according to an old saw, "all roads lead 
to Rome, ' ' so in trout-culture all efforts are di- 
rected towards taking, fertilising, and hatching 
trout eggs. The fish begin to ripen in au- 
tumn, sometimes as early as the first of Oc- 
tober, but often not until well in November, 
depending on water temperature and condi- 
tions. Weeks beforehand, both males and fe- 
males show signs of restlessness. The under 
jaw of the male lengthens and becomes almost 
a hook at the tip, and he exhibits signs of pug- 
nacity, which become more pronounced day by 
day. Fights of great ferocity are frequent, and 
fatal wounds are given and received, for the 
hook at the extremity of the lower jaw, has be- 
come an ugly weapon of offence. All battles 
are for the possession of females, and it some- 
times happens that the latter, getting in the 

126 



FERTILISING TROUT EGGS 127 

way, are fatally hurt. There are also other 
signs of the approaching spawning. Here and 
there fish will be seen clearing nests in the 
gravel, and females with swelling sides move 
more slowly and heavily through the water. 

Spawning Habits of Trout. — From this pe- 
riod on the days of the fish-culturist are full of 
watchfulness and anxiety. He must use his 
nets frequently to make tests to discover ripe- 
ness. This is done by taking the fish as though 
for stripping, and gently pressing the finger 
along the abdomen. If the eggs flow freely 
from the vent, the fish are ripe. 

When ponds are provided with a raceway the 
work is simpler, because few excepting the 
nearly ripe males and females enter it, and it is 
then only necessary to close the entrance and 
examine the fish which may be there. Race- 
ways attached to ponds should be covered 
with boards a couple of weeks before the spawn- 
ing time, as darkness has a great attraction for 
gravid fish. 

Ripeness is usually found first among fish of 
three years and older; the younger, or first 
spawners, not "coming in" until later in the 



128 FISH CULTUBE 

season. A few days after the first ripe fish 
have been found, numbers of others will be 
ready, and after that egg-taking proceeds daily, 
with growing rapidity, until the height of the 
season is reached. It is not expedient to draw 
all the ponds every day, partly because the num- 
ber of the spawners found would scarcely pay 
for the trouble, but chiefly because frequent 
handling is not good for the fish. Yet many 
days must not pass without every pond having 
been overhauled, or eggs will be lost. 

Handling Ripe Fish. — The act of spawning, 
as well as the period immediately preceding and 
following it, is always a drain on the vitality 
of fish, and some are certain to die. Handling 
and artificial extruding are still harder ordeals, 
under which further loss may be expected; 
hence great care must be exercised not to bruise 
nor roughly treat the fish while they are 
sorted and stripped. Some men use wet gloves 
made of canvas or other material during this 
process, in order that the trout may not slip 
from their hands; but this practice cannot be 
condemned too strongly. The glove is a death- 
dealing apparatus. Neither ought a fish to be 



FERTILISING TROUT EGGS 129 

handled with dry hands, as fungus is certain 
to develop where the trout has been grasped. 

When sorting his fish, three tubs are needed, 
a small-mesh seine, a long-handled scoop-net 
and a bucket. All the trout in the pond are 
drawn to one spot, as near as possible to the 
tubs, in each of which has been thrown a bucket- 
ful of water. Then a number of the fish are 
dipped out, transferred to one of the tubs, and 
the sorting begins. The ripe females are gently 
deposited in one tub, the ripe males in another, 
and the hard fish back in the pond. 

After the sorting is completed, the fish are 
carried into the hatching-house and placed in 
tanks or hatching-troughs. The latter is prefer- 
able, as it saves one handling. The strippers, 
with the spawning-pan in front of them on a 
box only a foot high, are seated while work- 
ing, so that if, by mischance, which is not infre- 
quent, a trout slips from the hands and falls to 
the floor, it is not likely to meet with serious 
injury. This plan, to my mind, is infinitely bet- 
ter than the practice of standing at a bench or 
barrel, as some fish-culturists do, for then the 
accidental dropping of a trout is almost certain 



130 FISH CULTURE 

to result in its death. After observing many- 
methods I am of the opinion that the best is to 
use one of the double hatching-troughs, so that 
if a fish slips, it will fall, not on the floor, but 
into the water. 

Choosing, then, one of the hatching-troughs 
for spawning purposes, the females are placed 
in one section and the males in another, the 
dams in each section having been previously so 
set that there is about six inches depth of water. 
A hatching-screen is set endwise in each section 
and fastened about two feet from the lower part, 
so as to confine two or three dozen fish in that 
space. A spawning-pan is made ready and set 
on a board midway on the trough. If there are 
a very great number, one man is assigned to 
handle the females ; a second, the males ; and a 
third to care for and dispose of the fish after 
they have been stripped. 

Before being placed on the board between the 
strippers, the spawning-pan is submerged for a 
moment or two in water, then allowed to drain 
off until only a few drops remain on the sides 
and bottom. This act seems trifling, but it is 
nevertheless important. If the eggs were 



FERTILISING TROUT EGGS 131 

stripped into a dry pan many of them would 
stick to the sides and bottom, and most of those 
which so adhered would in a little while become 
affected by fungus and die. The remainder 
would not become fertilised and consequently 
would not hatch. The moist pan prevents ad- 
hesion. 

Artificial Fertilisation. — All the preliminaries 
having been completed the men are now ready 
to "take" and impregnate eggs. The ovaries 
of the brook-trout are two membranous sacs 
lying along each side of the backbone of the fe- 
male, in which the eggs are developed, growing 
larger until early in the fall, when, shortly be- 
fore being voided, they attain their full size 
previous to being fertilised, and can be ex- 
pressed easily from the fish by a slight pressure 
of the fingers on its belly. On both sides of the 
backbone of the males are the testes, in which 
are formed spermatozoa, or fertilising ele- 
ments. They are pendant-shaped, with the 
points towards the vent. As the spawning time 
grows near, the pointed ends become soft, and 
there exudes a milky liquid called "milt," bear- 
ing thousands of spermatozoa. This milt may 



132 PISH CULTURE 

easily be expelled by means of a gentle pres- 
sure of the thumb or finger above the vent. 
When the female and the male are in this con- 
dition they are called ripe, and the mingling of 
the milt and spawn fertilises the eggs. Fish- 
culturists generally now accomplish this end by 
the Russian or "dry" method discovered by 
Vrasski and announced about 1871. Instead of 
fertilising the eggs in water, as taught by 
Gehin and Remy, they are pressed from the fish 
into a moistened pan and fertilised before any 
water is poured on them. 

A careful man will not take fish from the 
water by any abrupt or rapid movement likely 
to frighten them. Having first thoroughly wet 
his hands he will gently seize a fish by the head 
with the left hand, and with the right hold it 
firmly by the tail, not bruising it, until all strug- 
gling ceases. It will become quiet in a minute 
or two. In grasping the fish, the man's left 
hand should be over its head with the thumb 
towards his body ; the right hand should grasp 
the fish from the underside, with the thumb 
above and pointing away from his body. As 
soon as struggling ceases the fish is held over 



FERTILISING TROUT EGGS 133 

the pan so that the vent will be as close to the 
bottom as possible while the eggs or milt are 
being taken. 

There are two methods of taking eggs, one 
known as the two-finger, or thumb-and-finger 
method, and the other the one-finger method. 
In the former a man gives a slight pressure 
with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand 
along each side of the belly, from below the 
head towards the vent. In the one-finger 
method — probably the better — the thumb is 
gently pressed along the bottom of the belly 
towards the vent and the forefinger aids only 
in the final stripping of the last few eggs. By 
either method the eggs are easily expressed and 
flow in a steady stream into the pan. The ad- 
vocates of the one-finger method hold that there 
is less liability of injury to the fish than by the 
two-finger method. Probably they are right. 

Some men believe in stripping every egg from 
the female ; others that it is best to allow a few 
to remain. The former hold that it is better 
for the fish, as there is a liability that the eggs 
which remain will not be voided naturally by 
the female afterwards, but that they will harden 



134 FISH CULTURE 

and perhaps kill her. They also claim that de- 
spite all care an occasional male will be thrown 
into the tub containing the stripped females, 
and after being placed in the ponds there will 
inevitably be a fight with possible fatalities. 
I am inclined to think that the weight of the 
argument is in favour of clean stripping. 

As soon as the eggs have been taken from 
the female the milt is expressed from the male 
in the same manner as the eggs from the female. 
The eggs and milt are then thoroughly mixed. 
Some fish-culturists stir the two together with 
a feather, but my experience is that no imple- 
ment for this purpose excels the tail of the male, 
the operator still holding the fish and stirring 
with it. 

The eggs, when first extracted, are about one- 
third smaller than they become after they have 
been fertilised. A fish's egg, like an orange, is 
slightly flattened, and in the top there is a 
minute hole called a micropyle, surrounded by 
a glutinous substance. Fertilisation is accom- 
plished by an atom of milt (a spermatozoon) 
passing through the hole into the interior. It 
is a marvellous provision of nature that the 



FERTILISING TROUT EGGS 135 

atoms of milt almost unerringly find this minute 
opening. Even where the eggs and milt are 
naturally deposited in a stream, and where there 
is originally a distance of many inches, they 
reach the proper point for fertilisation of the 
ovum. 

It is also an exceedingly curious fact that the 
milt cannot retain its properties in water for 
more than a few minutes, generally less than 
three. It is this fact which made the discovery 
of Vrasski's "dry method' ' of fertilising eggs, 
of such great value to fish-culture. 

The operator squeezes females and males al- 
ternately until he has a sufficient number of 
fertilised eggs in the pan. It then becomes 
necessary to wash them, in order to remove 
surplus milt and any dirt or blood which might 
have been pressed from the fish. This should 
be done after a lapse of from three to five 
minutes. The eggs are then covered with clean 
water and allowed to stand not less than 15 or 
20 minutes, so that they soak in water and attain 
the proper size of fertilised ova. After being 
covered with water the eggs soon adhere to each 
other and to the bottom of the pan. It is very; 



136 FISH CULTUEE 

necessary that the eggs be now left absolutely 
quiet, as any disturbance during the process 
of water-soaking, sufficient to cause them to 
break apart, would almost inevitably cause the 
loss of nearly if not all the eggs in the pan. 
Little by little the eggs swell until the micropyle 
becomes closed and is hermetically sealed by the 
glutinous substance which surrounded it, and it 
remains so sealed throughout the entire period 
of incubation. At the end of from 15 to 30 
minutes adhesion ceases, the enlarged eggs sep- 
arate and are now ready to be placed on trays 
for hatching. 

The ordinary method is to pour the eggs from 
several spawning-pans into a dish-pan, pre- 
viously filled with clean cold water, until a suf- 
ficient quantity has been taken to fill one or 
more trays. From the dish-pan the eggs are 
poured into a graduated glass so that the exact 
number of eggs may be ascertained, and then 
are poured gently on to trays until the latter, 
according to size, contain from 10,000 to 25,000 
eggs. The eggs are then carefully spread two 
deep, by means of a feather, although there are 
circumstances in which they may be placed, 



FERTILISING TROUT EGGS 137 

for eyeing purposes, four or five deep, or even 
to the rim of the trays. The safety of doing 
this depends on the character of the troughs 
and the circulation of the water, for which no 
specific instruction or rule can be laid down. 
The knowledge thereof can only be acquired by 
experience. 

After the fish have been stripped they are 
placed in buckets, males in one, females in an- 
other, given a mild salt bath as a preventive 
against possible infection by fungus, and put 
back into their pond. 



CHAPTER X 

HATCHING TROUT AND CARE OF THE 
FRY 

Theke are differences of opinion as to how 
much water should be sent through the troughs 
containing trout-eggs. Some fish-culturists be- 
lieve that if a certain quantity be exceeded, it 
will result in what is call "bursted" eggs, or the 
destruction of the germ and also of the sac at- 
tached to the young fish; but I can find no 
evidence that mere volume can produce such 
disastrous results. I have seen water pouring 
forcibly from two one-inch pipes into a trough 
containing eggs ; and in the same house a similar 
supply in a trough containing fry, yet without 
the slightest injury to either. 

The fish-culturist must determine for himself 
how much water he may safely use without 
danger. It may be said as a general rule, that 
the more air there is in the water the smaller 
the flow required, and as there is usually more 

138 



HATCHING TEOUT 139 

air in hard water than in soft, ordinarily a 
greater volume of the latter may be turned on 
than of the former. But this cannot be taken as 
a hard and fast rule. I know of a case where 
three gallons of hard water per minute can be 
flowed over the eggs and fry without harm to 
either ; in a second case, also having hard water, 
two gallons is about the limit. In a third hatch- 
ery, where the water is soft, three gallons can 
be used without disturbing the eggs, and in an- 
other, of similar water, two gallons is ample. 
It is important for a fish-culturist, no matter 
how long he may have been in the business, to 
study thoroughly all about the water he uses 
in his plant, and also not to get it into his head 
that because he has been successful in rearing 
fish at one place, he must necessarily at once 
have the same good fortune on another 
property. 

Placing Trays. — The trays on which the eggs 
are placed should be submerged very close to 
the bottom of the trough, or in such a position 
as to provide the greatest amount of current 
or aeration consistent with not moving the eggs. 
As the trays are slightly narrower than the 



140 FISH CULTURE 

troughs they must be held in place by some 
means. To do this several methods are em- 
ployed. One quite common is a V-shaped 
wedge of wood, inserted between the troughs 
and one side of the tray. Another is to make 
the trays of material so light that the weight 
of the eggs will keep them submerged; when 
this latter method is used it is necessary to 
fasten at the under corners screw-eyes, or 
blocks of wood, to keep the trays from settling 
entirely on the bottom, and thus run the risk 
of being covered with sediment and injured. 
Trays are sometimes weighted enough to keep 
them down, or are slipped beneath cleats on 
each side of the trough so as to slide in and 
out after the manner of drawers in a desk. 
This is perhaps the best way. 

Care of the Eggs. — There is always a quantity 
of unfertilised eggs in every lot taken. Some 
of them are frequently detected as soon as the 
washing is finished. They are marble white, 
opaque, and sometimes show the micropyle in 
the form of a yellowish spot. Within 48 hours 
after the eggs have been placed upon the trays 
others which were not fertilised begin to show 



HATCHING TEOUT 141 

themselves, and must be removed. One not- 
able and interesting form of unfertilised egg 
is the " ringer." Eingers seldom appear until 
from 15 to 20 days after they have been on the 
trays, and as they become opaque very slowly 
they may be found throughout the entire hatch- 
ing. A ringer does not at first appear as 
a bad egg, and will deceive any but a practical 
fish-culturist into thinking that it is fertilised. 
It is translucent, like a good egg y but when held 
to the light nearly a perfect circle is discerned 
within the shell. 

Another failure in fertilisation which some- 
times deceives an inexperienced person is what 
may be called a "false" egg. The false egg is 
rather more translucent than a good egg; but 
when held to the light, its worthlessness is easily 
detected, for it is seen to be simply a ball of 
watery albuminous material. Eingers are 
found in eggs from mature fish of all ages, but 
false eggs are seldom taken from fish less than 
three years old. 

What causes ringers and false eggs is a question 
that most fish-culturists would like answered. Why 
one unfertilised egg should become opaque within fif- 



142 FISH CULTURE 

teen minutes or forty-eight hours; why a ringer may 
remain translucent until after good eggs are hatched ; 
why false eggs may remain superficially as clean and 
translucent as good eggs for three or four weeks, are 
enigmas as bewildering as anything the Sphinx could 
propound. Although it is claimed that ringers are 
more abundant among fish which have been over-fed, 
I have never heard any one offer a solution for the 
appearance of them which seemed to me to be even 
plausible. I have heard only one explanation of the 
cause of a false egg which seemed at all enlightening. 
As a false egg is seldom found in fish younger than 
three years, it has been suggested that they are eggs 
which have been soaked prematurely in the ovaries 
when, as it sometimes happens, the female took water. 
On several occasions I have found ripe four-year-old 
females in July. I stripped them and found them all 
carrying water, and the eggs were as thoroughly 
soaked as they would have been after impregnation 
and washing. These experiences indicate the plausi- 
bility of the theory that a false egg is caused by being 
soaked while in the ovaries. It is claimed also, by 
some men, that a water-soaked egg is often carried by 
the female over the year, or until the next spawning. 

Dead Eggs. — It is of course necessary that 
all dead eggs be removed from the trays before 
they develop fungus; hence, picking should be- 
gin not later than the day after the laden trays 



HATCHING TROUT 143 

have been submerged in the troughs. Daily- 
picking is desirable, but not always imperative. 
The temperature of the water, and the fish- 
culturist's knowledge of its liability to produce 
fungus, must help him to decide this matter. 
In very cold water fungus develops very 
slowly, but in rising temperature more rapidly ; 
it is also more likely to appear in abundance in 
hard water than in soft water of the same tem- 
perature. The appearance of dead eggs does 
not always mean that they were not fertilised. 
Their death may have been caused by careless 
handling, by being jarred or bruised, notably 
by instruments used in picking. It is to reduce 
the possibility of injury by picking, that the use 
of the rubber bulb is advocated instead of the 
old-fashioned picker employed in many hatch- 
eries. 

When trout eggs are carefully fertilised, and 
water conditions remain normal, there is not 
likely to be a very heavy loss. Occasionally 
something that cannot be foreseen nor pre- 
vented happens which results in an abnormal 
death rate among the eggs, sometimes forcing 
the employment of extra labour in order to clean 



144 FISH CULTURE 

the trays before fungus appears. As egg-pick- 
ing under such circumstances is often costly, 
fish-culturists would be glad if some method 
could be discovered which would rapidly and in- 
expensively separate the good from the bad 
eggs without injuring the former. At one time 
it was hoped that a salt solution might be ef- 
fectively employed. 

I remember that at a meeting of the Amer- 
ican Fisheries Society, held at White Sulphur 
Springs, W. Va., in 1905, Mr. Henry O'Mally, 
of Baker, Washington, announced the success- 
ful separation of good and bad salmon eggs 
of several species without injury to the former, 
by the use of first a solution of equal parts of 
salt and water, and afterwards one part salt to 
nine parts water. Under this treatment the 
good eggs slowly separated and settled to the 
bottom while the bad eggs floated to the surface 
and could be skimmed off. This discovery led 
to experiments being made with trout and other 
eggs, but the results as far as published do not 
appear to be very satisfactory. It is hoped that 
further experiments with brook-trout and lake- 
trout eggs may show a better outcome. 



HATCHING TEOUT 145 

Egg Development. — After a lapse of from ten 
to twelve hours, a perfectly fertilised brook 
trout egg, when held to the light, shows what 
appears to be several globules not unlike air 
bubbles crowded about the micropyle. They 
are so small that only the sharp eyes of an ex- 
pert can detect them, a microscope being neces- 
sary to aid the sight of the unskilled. In addi- 
tion, the egg has a delicately coloured, clear, 
translucent appearance. After a lapse of three 
or four days these globules become elongated, 
and otherwise change to somewhat the form of 
the spreading roots of a tree. About a week 
or ten days later, the globules have disappeared 
and in their place there is a very indistinct 
outline of a little fish. 

Growth of the Embryo. — Day by day the out- 
lines grow more definite, yet only to be detected 
by a sharp and practised eye, until, when the 
egg is from eighteen days to three weeks old, 
two intensely black spots set close together are 
plainly visible. These are fish's eyes, — the first 
unmistakable view of the embryo observable. 

Next is sharply outlined a jetty V, the two 
points of which touch the eyes. These converg- 



146 FISH CULTURE 

ing lines represent the contour of the skull. A 
little later a curving black line is attached to the 
bottom of the V and a perfect Y is the result. 
The tail of the Y is the backbone. With suc- 
ceeding days the rude outline of the skull and 
backbone develops, until at length a perfectly 
formed fish is visible, wrapped almost com- 
pletely around an oval ball (the yolk-sac). 

Active life is then apparent. At first it is 
manifested at short irregular intervals by oc- 
casional tremors through the little fish ; then, in 
sudden, convulsive, jerky movements which in- 
crease in frequency until just before it emerges 
from the shell. As soon as the little fish has 
acquired sufficient strength it breaks the shell 
and begins to emerge, tail first. It works vigor- 
ously for a short time, then rests, then resumes 
activity and so, alternately struggling and rest- 
ing, it finally frees itself wholly from the mem- 
branous envelope in which it began existence. 
To break through the shell of the egg tail first, 
is nature's method of bringing a perfectly 
healthy fish into the world. 

Why does a healthy fish always issue from the egg 
tail first? A plausible answer is that by so doing 



HATCHING TROUT 147 

the little fish is enabled to keep more easily his gill- 
covers open and breathe. In fact the shell, dragging 
at the edge of the gill-covers, pulls them open and 
thus gives assistance to a safe delivery. If the little 
creatures were to emerge head first the shell would 
most likely press itself against the gill-covers, close 
them, and either smother the fish or leave it so weak 
that death would surely follow in a little while. Be 
this as it may, it is nevertheless a fact that the issuance 
of a fish in any other manner than tail foremost is 
indicative of premature or improper hatching, with 
early death as a result. 

As the fry emerge, they fall through the long 
meshes in the trays to the bottom of the trough 
which at this time contains no gravel or sand. 
They are then gathered daily, or oftener, by- 
means of a feather and scap-net, placed in pans 
of water and transferred to troughs previously 
made ready for them, the bottoms of which are 
covered with fine, well washed gravel. It is 
important that the gravel be not sharp, but 
water-worn and smooth, so that the delicate 
covering of the yolk-sac cannot be injured by 
the wrigglings of the little fish. When a suf- 
ficient supply of good gravel is secured, it 
should be carefully preserved from year to 



148 FISH CULTUEE 

year ; because the of tener it is used, the better 
adapted it becomes to its purpose. 

Provided they are disturbed as little as pos- 
sible, and there is a proper water-supply, the 
care of good eggs to the period of " eyeing' ' 
is called a very simple matter by many people. 
Nevertheless from the third day after fertilisa- 
tion to the appearance of the eyes is a period, 
which, if not critical, is at least one which will 
require unremitting watchfulness and care. 

Moving eggs about before the eyeing period 
may or may not be seriously injurious accord- 
ing to local conditions. In some fish hatcheries 
it would be considered fatal to the bulk of the 
eggs at least, to disturb them in any manner 
whatever, until they showed the eyes. In other 
establishments it is declared that the eggs may 
be handled with perfect freedom and safety, if 
the work be done carefully; and feathered, 
cleaned or salted. A capable superintendent 
of one of the Pennsylvania stations declared 
emphatically and truthfully that he had a less 
percentage of loss from trays which he removed 
during this period from one trough to another 
for the purpose of salting when fungus ap- 



HATCHING TEOUT 149 

peared, than lie had among eggs which he did 
not disturb. 

On the other hand, at another station, a su- 
perintendent equally capable and truthful, as- 
serted that in his hatchery such treatment 
would be fatal to every egg. From this it may 
be gathered that to what extent eggs may be 
handled, feathered and salted, before they are 
eyed, depends more or less on the water condi- 
tions in the hatchery; and in a measure must 
be left to the judgment of the fish-culturist to 
determine. On general principles, however, it 
is wiser to leave the eggs undisturbed except 
in so far as picking is concerned. 

It is greater wisdom to take the chance of 
eggs smothering from a muddy deposit than to 
wash them by removing the trays to troughs or 
tubs of clean water and moving them gently up 
and down ; or even cleaning the eggs by means 
of a feather without removing the trays. This 
is particularly true where the eggs are cared 
for in troughs of the Pennsylvania patterns. 
There is much less danger of smothering in 
troughs when the circulation of water is up and 
down through the trays, as it is in the troughs 



150 FISH CULTUEE 

of the Clark make or those of similar pattern. 
Of course if it becomes plainly evident that eggs 
in the troughs of the Pennsylvania pattern are 
certain to smother if the mud which surrounds 
them is not cleaned, then the risk of clearing 
must he taken if there is the slightest chance 
that even a part of them may be saved. After 
eyeing, eggs can be handled freely and cleansed 
at will without danger. 

One very important thing is to avoid any jar- 
ring of the troughs and trays during the entire 
period of incubation. It is very disastrous to 
green and young eggs, and productive of mon- 
strosities at the eyeing period. Double fishes, 
that is, two fishes to one yolk, are not produced 
in this manner, but through more than one atom 
of milt having entered the micropyle when the 
egg was fertilised. 

Feathering. — Frequent mention has been 
made of feathering eggs. The operation con- 
sists simply in taking a feather, preferably a 
turkey feather, and gently waving it along the 
eggs or the fry, or among or over them. Feath- 
ering only begins after the eyes show, and ought 
to be repeated frequently thereafter. It is done 



HATCHING TROUT 151 

to aid in the aeration of the water about the 
eggs, as after eyeing they should come into con- 
tact with plenty of free oxygen in the water 
which flows over them. The frequency of 
feathering will therefore depend on the amount 
of oxygen there is in the water. Feathering 
also assists in the prevention of the growth of 
fungus, and in other particulars appears to be 
an aid in successful hatching. 

Care During the Yolk-sac Period. — The num- 
ber of fry placed in a trough is a matter of 
discretion and ability to care for them. Almost 
as soon as transferred from the screens the fry 
will " huddle/ ' as it is termed; that is, gather 
together thickly in different parts of the trough, 
usually in the corners and along the sides. 
Huddling is regarded as a sign of health. If 
the fry do not do this within a reasonable time 
after hatching, and continue to do so until the 
sac is partially absorbed, they are not thor- 
oughly strong and healthy. It is possible of 
course for the little creatures to huddle in too 
great numbers in some particular parts of the 
trough, so it is advisable to set low partitions 
in the bottom, near the head and at the centre. 



152 FISH CULTUEE 

These will invariably attract some of the fry 
and so distribute the groups more evenly 
throughout the troughs, thus preventing what 
might otherwise result in smothering. While 
the sac remains, the fry will take no food, ex- 
cept that which is furnished by the contents of 
the sac. This is absorbed. 

The period of absorption depends largely 
upon the temperature of the water. In most 
spring water the period is from 35 to 45 days. 
In creek waters it is from 60 to 120 days. The 
lower the temperature the longer the time re- 
quired for the absorption. Under favourable 
conditions the growth of fry during this period 
is very rapid. After the sac is partially ab- 
sorbed the huddling is less persistent, and as 
the days pass there is an increasing inclination 
on the part of the fry to scatter. Just before 
the sac has entirely disappeared the little fish 
begin to rise towards the surface and scatter 
freely over the bottom of the troughs ; and when 
the absorption of the sac is complete the little 
fish start to take food which is prepared for 
them. 

The care of the fry during the absorption of 



HATCHING TROUT 153 

the sac is a work that should receive close at- 
tention. Troughs must be kept clear of fungus, 
which quickly develops whenever any of the 
young fish die, or when filth is allowed to ac- 
cumulate; hence not only should dead fish be 
picked from the troughs as quickly as possible, 
but the troughs feathered often to remove the 
sediment or other dirt which invariably gathers 
when feeding begins. 

After the sac is absorbed and the little fish 
arise, a strip of wood an inch wide should be 
added to the lower end of the troughs, so as to 
increase the depth of the water to about three 
inches. This will enable them to swim up 
more freely and render the task of feeding 
easier. 

After feeding is begun the advanced fry, as 
they are now called, require very close attention 
to prevent the breaking out or spread of disease, 
especially fungus and ■ ' sore throat. ' ' The lat- 
ter is caused generally by the fish becoming 
weakened through an insufficient supply of oxy- 
gen, especially when the troughs are crowded. 
Should more than a normal mortality be noticed 
at any time, the young fish must be given a salt 



154 FISH CULTURE 

bath, and perhaps the number in each trough 
be reduced. In fact, after the fish have been 
feeding well, there should be a thinning out be- 
fore any sign of disease or undue uneasiness 
develops. A trough filled with fry will be 
greatly overcrowded by advanced fry after a 
fortnight. The extent of the thinning will de- 
pend of course on the number of fry that were 
first put in the troughs. This must be left 
wholly to the judgment or experience of the 
fish-culturist. It might be said that where close 
attention is paid to the health of the advanced 
fry a much larger number can be carried in a 
trough than some people suppose. 

Not many years ago the average fish-culturist 
would hesitate to carry more than 15,000 ad- 
vanced fry in a trough in which the same man 
to-day would not hesitate to carry over 30,000, 
or if driven to it, 40,000, and bring them through 
successfully. While this is true, it is not ad- 
visable to carry more than 15,000 or 20,000 
advanced fry in a twelve-foot trough, nor is it 
advisable to go far below the smaller number 
mentioned, because there is less likelihood of 
all the food that is given out being devoured, 



HATCHING TROUT 155 

and uneaten food is a developer of fungus. 

Dangers to the Fry. — With a marked increase 
over 15,000, there is proportionately a greater 
amount of care and attention required and 
greater danger of disaster. Troughs contain- 
ing only about 15,000 will require attention about 
once a day in addition to the three daily meals. 
A trough containing 30,000 will require care at 
least three or four times daily, exclusive of 
feeding, and must be carefully scanned the first 
thing in the morning and the last thing at 
night. 

If trouble breaks out in a heavily stocked 
trough the danger of a total loss is much greater 
than where there is only a normal quantity. 
Naturally the number must be governed some- 
what by the temperature of the water and the 
character of the troughs. It would be perfectly 
safe to carry 20,000 to 25,000 for two or three 
months after the sacs have been absorbed in 
troughs of the Pennsylvania pattern. After a 
couple of months there must be further thin- 
ning. The higher the temperature the smaller 
the number of fish that can be carried safely, 
for the reason that with the higher tempera- 



156 FISH CULTUEE 

tures there is more rapid breathing and there- 
fore a greater amount of oxygen consumed. 

Salt-Baths. — Mention has been made of the 
use of salt. It is both important and necessary 
in successful trout work. Salt is to the fish- 
culturist what calomel or quinine is to the doc- 
tor of human patients, a sort of preliminary 
cure-all. On the other hand it should also be 
said, by way of caution, that salt is to a fish what 
strychnine is to mankind — death, when admin- 
istered in too heavy doses, a powerful stimulant 
when used under proper conditions and in due 
proportions. Salt is also useful as a cleanser 
of troughs and ponds. The discovery of the 
valuable medical and hygienic qualities of salt 
in fish-cultural work was made in 1872 by Liv- 
ingston Stone. 

Salt baths for fry are advisable, as they act 
as preventives of gill troubles. They should 
be administered in varying degrees of strength 
regulated by needs of the different stages of 
disease that may present themselves. In very 
mild cases, or when there is slight indication of 
sickness among the fry, the salt can be placed 
at the head of a trough where the water from 



HATCHING TEOUT 157 

the faucet can fall on it. This will make a very; 
weak solution which will run through every 
part of the trough. If the disease be more pro- 
nounced, and a more effective dose be neces- 
sary, the salt can be scattered over the bottom 
of the trough and then thoroughly dissolved by 
the hand, leaving the water running during the 
saturation. As the fish grow older it is some- 
times well to put salt in the water, even when 
there is no pronounced indication of disease. 
There are two very good methods of admin- 
istering a salt bath to advanced fry and finger- 
lings while yet in the hatching-house. The 
most successful is to cut off the water-supply 
and distribute salt as evenly as possible 
throughout the trough ; then by a gentle motion 
of the hand back and forth through the gravel, 
dissolve it. The other method is first to dis- 
solve the salt in a pailful of water, and then, 
after turning off the water-supply as in the 
other method, distribute the brine as evenly as 
possible over the trough by means of a small 
sprinkling-can or watering-pot. Should it hap- 
pen that the disease is widespread, and heroic 
measures are necessary, the amount of salt 



158 FISH CULTURE 

must be increased and the fish kept in the brine 
until they all exhibit great distress. When 
some of the fish begin to turn over, the fresh 
water must be turned on at once and the salt 
water washed out as quickly as possible. Un- 
der this heroic treatment some fish may die, but 
this need cause no alarm, for they would have 
died in any event. When a large amount of 
fungus develops daily among eyed eggs, good 
results may be obtained by taking the trays 
carefully out of the troughs and sprinkling them 
by means of a sprinkling-pot with a solution 
of salt and water. 

Another word of caution is necessary con- 
cerning the use of salt. Under no circum- 
stances must what is commonly called " table 
salt" be used. There is something in the proc- 
ess of refining for table purposes that is 
highly injurious to fish. Almost any form of 
coarse salt can be employed, except pulverised 
rock salt. 

Reference has been made to cleaning troughs 
by means of a scap-net. The process is both 
simple and interesting. First the water-supply 
is turned off at the faucet, and the upper strip 



HATCHING TROUT 159 

of wood which forms the dam at the lower end 
of the trough is removed, first making sure that 
the screen above the dam is secure and clean. 
When the water has fallen to about an inch in 
depth, the operator feathers from one end of 
the trough to the other. Then he takes the scap- 
net and, beginning at the upper end, works it 
gradually to the lower in very short sweeps, 
picking up the dirt and also very weak fish, 
which if allowed to remain would undoubtedly 
die. A spawning-pan containing water is kept 
close at hand and into it is emptied the contents 
of the scap-net, to be finally thrown away. 



CHAPTER XI 
BEARING YOUNG TROUT 

The successful care of trout in ponds from 
the fingerling* stage to maturity, and until they 
are disposed of, depends upon having sufficient 
water, clean ponds and proper food. Finger- 
lings which are designed for breeding purposes 
should be transferred to outside ponds as soon 
as possible after they have reached that stage, 
or in the advanced-fry stage soon after they 
have begun to feed. 

The most difficult period for carrying trout 
is the first summer. Unless every precaution 
is taken, the utmost diligence observed, and the 
best skill exerted, it will likely be found in Oc- 
tober, when the transfer of fish from the hatch- 

* Fry, — Fish freshly hatched, still carrying the yolk-sac; 
Advanced fry, — Fish with the sac absorbed, but less than 1 
inch long; Fingerlings, — Fry less than 1 year old; No. 1 fin- 
gerlings, are from 1 to 2 in. long, No. 2, from 2 to 3 in. long. 
Yearlings, — Fish from 1 year old and over. 

160 



BEARING YOUNG TROUT 161 

ing-house to the ponds is made, that the number 
has been nmch reduced. I have known the loss 
to be half during the first summer of an estab- 
lishment. 

One method, usually safe, of reducing the 
death-rate during the advanced-fry and finger- 
ling stages is to furnish plenty of shade. At 
one of the stations in Pennsylvania the annual 
death-rate was from 50 to 75 per cent., until the 
nursery-ponds were completely covered, be- 
tween March and October, whereupon the 
death-rate fell from 10 to 15 per cent. 

Automatic Feeders. — Rapidity of growth, 
which is important when rearing for the mar- 
ket, can best be stimulated during the first six 
or eight months after the sac is absorbed by 
the use of one of the forms of automatic feed- 
ing apparatus. It is then possible for one man 
to care easily for almost any number of ponds 
holding from 5,000 to 10,000 fish each. Young 
trout should be given all the food they can con- 
sume, but no more, since more will be a waste, 
and will foul the ponds. The reservoir of the 
feeder should be replenished at regular inter- 
vals with an amount that will become exhausted 



162 FISH CULTURE 

in about an hour. It is also essential to the 
successful operation of an automatic feeder that 
the food remain of uniform consistency. If the 
liquid liver paste or the milk becomes thickened 
beyond a certain point it cannot be drawn into 
the water by the piston system or properly cast 
by the revolving-spoon device. 

Some men object to the automatic feeder 
chiefly on the ground that the strongest finger- 
lings will get all the food and the weakest none 
or very little ; at the end of a few months, they 
say, there will be a few very large fish and a 
great number of half-starved and little ones. 
My experience and that of others is that this 
does not occur, especially when the trout are 
sorted at the proper time. Even if it were true 
that the largest and strongest get nearly all 
the food and the weakest very little, the condi- 
tion would hardly be worse than when fed by 
hand. I may add that after observing a con- 
tinual use of automatic feeders for a long time 
I find that the average size of all fish fed in 
this manner is at least a third larger than those 
fed by hand. This is also much the cheaper 
way. In hand feeding, one man can care for 



REARING YOUNG TROUT 163 

only half the number of fingerling-pon&s that 
can be managed when the automatic feeder is 
in use. 

There are several designs of automatic feeders more 
or less in use, two of which seem to be most generally 
favoured. Both are operated by means of a small 
waterwheel, and are usually set at the head of the 
nursery-pond. One supplies the food by drawing it 
from the reservoir by means of a piston rod, which 
works back and forth through a hole bored in the 
side close to the bottom. A good reservoir may be 
made from a stoneware marmalade jar with a hole 
bored in the side close to the bottom. The other 
throws the food over the surface of the pond by three 
or four wooden spoons or slightly hollowed paddles 
set like the spokes of a wheel in a hub. I prefer the 
first, because it supplies the food more regularly, more 
evenly, and much more slowly than the second. The 
last point is of decided merit, for until the supply 
of food in the reservoir is exhausted, there are finger- 
lings waiting eagerly for each grain that falls. 

Food for Fingerlings. — Fingerlings or ad- 
vanced fry, having been placed in the nursery- 
ponds, should be given food not less than three 
times a day. Experience has taught us that 
there are two kinds of food that yield the best 



164 FISH CULTUEE 

results. One is liver, prepared by rubbing it 
through perforated tins so as to reduce it to 
the consistency of a pulp or paste ; the other is 
thick milk. The liver paste should be mixed 
with water until it is thin enough to be drawn 
through the automatic feeder drop by drop, at 
such a rate as will enable the fish to feed 
steadily from an hour to an hour and a half be- 
fore the reservoir is exhausted. If it is made 
too thin, it will be dropped into the ponds faster 
than it can be eaten. When the feeding is to be 
done by hand the liver paste may be made a 
little thinner than when prepared for the auto- 
matic apparatus. 

In the preparation of milk-food the best re- 
sults are obtained by using skimmed milk which 
has been allowed to curdle and thicken natu- 
rally. The thickening ought not to be forced by 
scalding or boiling, which gives a toughness to 
the curds that is undesirable, and which is not 
so easily digested as the soft particles of nat- 
urally thickened milk. It should be placed in 
the automatic feeders in the same quantities 
as the liver. A little salt, occasionally, in both 
the milk and liver paste, has been found to be 



REARING YOUNG TROUT 165 

beneficial to the fingerlings, but so little should 
be used that the salinity would not be percep- 
tible to our taste. Most fish-culturists use thick 
milk only as a change of diet, and in proportion 
of one meal to three. Very few offer it exclu- 
sively or as often as the liver paste. I have 
never heard a good reason for this, and have 
found that young trout, at least until they were 
six or seven months old, lived and thrived on 
thick milk exclusively, with care as to over- 
feeding, so that no surplus shall accumulate 
on the bottom of the ponds and ferment. 

Hand feeding is done by means of a rubber 
bulb or a spoon. I prefer the bulb, for with it 
the fingerlings can be fed more rapidly, more 
effectively, and the food scattered more evenly 
over the surface of the water. Whether using 
a spoon or a bulb it is expedient to teach the 
young fish to come to a certain spot in the pond 
for their food, by patiently and persistently 
feeding them at the same place every day. It 
saves time and labour, and is amusing. 

A curious fact may be noted here, illustrating the 
ease with which habits may be acquired by young 
trout, and the trouble which may ensue when it is 



166 FISH CULTUEE 

desired to change them. A natural habit of wild 
trout is to rise towards the surface for food, and to 
ignore anything excepting living creatures on the bot- 
tom. The initial food for young trout in captivity, 
as I have said, is liver and thick milk, both of which 
sink rapidly to the bottom. When they begin to feed, 
the advanced fry seize the liver or milk as it sinks, 
and soon learn to pick it up from the gravel. They 
keep this up after being transferred to the ponds. 
After the lapse of several months the young trout, 
having reached the dignity of fingerlings, have their 
food changed to chopped lungs. Now lungs are 
lighter than water, and therefore float. When first 
introduced to this food the young trout pay little at- 
tention to it, not coming freely to the surface for it, 
but apparently waiting for it to sink; and it some- 
times requires two or three weeks of very patient work 
to teach the youngsters to rise to the surface for their 
food. 

After the young fish have remained in the 
nursery ponds or races until their size has ap- 
preciably increased, it is important that they be 
sorted according to size, and transferred to the 
rearing-ponds where they must be fed by hand, 
and regularly given as much food as they will 
consume, but no more. 

Feeding Yearlings. — When the trout reach 



EEAEING YOUNG TEOUT 167 

the yearling stage the food is changed from 
liver paste and thick milk to chopped lungs and 
hearts and liver, cnt in small pieces, but not 
mashed into a paste. In some establishments 
certain artificial foods are furnished from time 
to time as a change of diet, and in one com- 
mercial establishment the principal food for 
trout over six months old is flour cooked into 
a mush, while trout of younger age, after the 
advanced-fry stage, are fed a mush of half flour 
and half liver paste. 

Meat Food. — Meat food is ground by a 
sausage-grinder through perforations of a size 
convenient for the fish to swallow, and scattered 
over the surface of the pond so that every fish 
will have a chance to get its share, and all will 
be consumed. The different kinds of meat 
foods usually given the older fish are the livers 
of beef, or the lungs and livers of a hog, or the 
heart, lungs and livers of sheep. The last is 
best for advanced fry and fingerlings because 
it is more easily prepared. There is an un- 
pleasant sliminess about hog liver that renders 
it undesirable for trout young or old. Many 
men engaged in rearing trout use blood for 



168 FISH CULTURE 

feeding advanced fry and fingerlings, and no 
more excellent nourishment can be recom- 
mended. To prepare it for use the blood from a 
slaughtered animal, while still warm, is run di- 
rectly into a barrel and stirred vigorously until 
it is smoothly thick. Blood allowed to thicken 
without stirring is clotted, stringy, and unfit 
for feeding purposes. 

Cleanliness Required. — Clean ponds are as 
important factors towards success as the char- 
acter and quantity of the food. Dead fish 
should be removed at once. In every hatchery 
there ought to be a standing rule that every 
pond must be gone over the first thing each 
morning, and any fish which may have died 
during the previous 24 hours taken out. Filth 
of any kind and certain forms of algae must 
not be allowed to accumulate, and the ponds 
therefore need to be cleaned at regular inter- 
vals. It is as necessary for the health of the 
fish that the ponds be kept clean, as it is for the 
well being of a man that the house in which he 
lives be kept free from filth ; in both cases dirt 
breeds disease. 

Ponds with concrete, or building-tile sides 



REARING YOUNG TROUT 169 

are naturally the easiest to cleanse, and those 
with natural banks the hardest. To clean con- 
crete or tile ponds the water-supply is first shut 
off and nearly all the water is allowed to run 
away. Before the drawing, a quantity of salt 
should be dissolved and the brine thrown into 
the water, so as to loosen slime and other refuse 
that may be deposited on the bottom and sides. 
The salt will at the same time act as a health 
bath for the fish. When the water has been 
drawn off as far as safety will permit, the sides 
of the pond are thoroughly swabbed with a 
brush and the dirt and refuse worked to the 
lower end to the outlet, where the current will 
carry it away when again turned on. To clean 
large ponds containing mature fish draw the 
water down, clean the sides with a brush, and 
then allow the full current of water to run 
through the ponds. 

Sorting. — Trout, like other carnivorous fishes, 
are cannibals, and in a wild state the death- 
rate from this cause is large. Partly for this 
reason the trout in the ponds ought to be sorted 
into sizes as soon as possible. When first in- 
troduced into the nursery-ponds as advanced 



170 FISH CULTUEE 

fry or fingerlings they are too small to sort, 
but through the agency of heavy feeding there 
will be a sufficient growth to warrant the work 
being done for the first time about the middle 
of June. There should be a second sorting in 
August and a third not later than the middle of 
October. 

In ordinary circumstances the fish can be 
divided, in June, into three classes, or at most 
four, and it is probable that the same number 
of grades can be maintained both in August 
and October. The nursery-ponds will continue 
to be the abiding place of the fish after both 
the June and August sortings. After this work 
in October they are not returned to the nursery- 
ponds, but transferred to the yearling-ponds, 
where they remain until after they reach the 
age of 20 months, or until the spawning period. 
After having the spawn taken from them the 
fish are transferred to their final home in the 
largest adult-ponds. 

During the two or three months immedi- 
ately following the recovery of the fish 
from the labour of spawning, or the or- 
deal of being stripped, trout grow faster 



BEARING YOUNG TROUT 171 

than at any other period in the year; con- 
sequently, as soon as they have begun to 
recover, they should be given all the food 
they will eat in order to assist and foster 
the growth. This is perhaps the most impor- 
tant advice that can be given with respect to 
feeding. Delay in feeding regularly at other 
times is not as serious as a failure to furnish 
them a full and regular supply during the two 
or three months just mentioned. 

After the lapse of two or three months, if the 
hatchery is one in which the main object is the 
propagation of the fry and fingerlings for 
breeding or distribution and not for the market, 
it would be well to decrease slightly the amount 
of food given daily, as a growth beyond the 
normal for their age is likely sometimes to 
cause a deterioration in the quality of the eggs. 
In my experience the proportion of " ringers' * 
in eggs is frequently increased where fish are 
over-fed to increase their size. 

If, however, the propagation of fry and 
fingerlings for stocking purposes is secondary 
to the rearing of fish for market, then the food 
question assumes another aspect. Naturally 



172 FISH CULTUEE 

the aim of those who rear for commercial pur- 
poses is to produce as rapid a growth as pos- 
sible so that the fish will be marketable at an 
early date. In those circumstances the fish 
should be given daily, throughout the year, as 
much as they can gorge. In commercial estab- 
lishments feeding occurs rarely less than three 
times a day, and in some of them as many as 
five times daily. 

It is said that ordinarily a trout will eat 
daily, if given the opportunity, about one- 
twentieth its own weight. In one establish- 
ment, where fish are raised for the market, food 
to about one fourth the estimated total weight 
of fish is given regularly and there is much dis- 
ease among the fish. In another, the average 
amount of food is about one fifth the estimated 
weight of fish in the ponds. In this instance 
there is no disease and very little fouling of 
ponds is perceptible. The ponds are very 
large, covering about half an acre each with 
a depth of from eight to fifteen feet in the 
kettle, and supplied by a large volume of creek 
water, consequently it cannot be laid down as 
a hard and fast rule that over feeding is sure 



BEARING YOUNG TROUT 173 

to breed disease. By feeding to the utmost 
limit of their capacity, trout at the age of 20 
months will equal in size the normal growth 
of a three-year-old fish, a size which finds the 
readiest sale in the market. 



CHAPTEE XII 
THE ATLANTIC SALMON 

Salmoet-cultuke is carried on almost entirely 
by the United States government, and on the 
Atlantic is maintained for sentimental reasons 
rather than for any great practical results. 
Nearly all the large streams in New England 
were once abundantly supplied with salmon, 
but now only the Kennebec and the Penobscot 
in Maine contain it in any numbers. The 
United States Bureau of Fisheries supports a 
hatchery in that state, but the cost of operat- 
ing it is nearly or quite equal to the value of 
the catch of fish. 

Numerous stations are maintained by the 
government on the Columbia Eiver and in 
Alaska for the propagation of the various 
species of the Pacific salmon, and with great 
success. Efforts have been made from time to 
time to transplant the quinnat salmon to the 

174 



THE ATLANTIC SALMON 175 

Atlantic coast, but always without good for- 
tune, apparently because its natural spawn- 
ing-grounds are in a much higher latitude than 
Maine. 

Attempts were also made to introduce the 
silversides, a fish that spawns in about the same 
latitude as the Atlantic salmon; the young 
thrived in the hatching-ponds at East Orland, 
Maine, and in the state breeding-ponds in Penn- 
sylvania, to within one year of breeding age, 
when the experiment was abandoned. Fish a 
year old had attained an average length of 
seven or eight inches; they fed greedily and 
maintained vigorous health. That initial 
plantings in the tributaries of the Delaware 
Eiver were successful is evinced by the fact that 
in July, 1908, three young silversides were 
caught in the Lackawaxen Creek, Wayne 
County, Pa. 

Eepeated but unsuccessful attempts have 
been made at the United States hatchery of 
East Orland, Maine, and at the Wayne and 
Bellefonte hatcheries in Pennsylvania, to do- 
mesticate Atlantic salmon in numbers sufficient 
to establish breeding-ponds. Mr. Atkins, Su- 



176 FISH CULTURE 

perintendent of the East Orland station, suc- 
ceeded in raising a few from the eggs to ma- 
turity, and in securing eggs therefrom. The 
superintendent of the Bellefonte hatchery 
reared six to spawning age. Unfortunately 
they were all females, and each was stunted. 
At the age of four years the largest was 
scarcely 15 inches long, and at five years they 
had hardly added another inch to their length. 

The Pennsylvania superintendents found almost in- 
superable difficulties in inducing the young fish to 
take food. Nothing seemed to tame them. They 
were so wild that whenever any one approached the 
pond they scattered in all directions hiding wherever 
they could. The superintendent of the Bellfonte 
station was unable to make them take any food while 
in the fingerling stage, excepting a half dozen which 
afterward reached maturity ; he achieved success with 
these only by placing them in a pond containing 
brook-trout of the same size. The superintendent of 
the Wayne station managed to induce his first stock 
of fingerlings to eat a small quantity of food by hid- 
ing himself in a small reservoir at the head of the 
pond, and allowing food to be carried to the fish by 
means of the intake pipe. A second lot took food 
more freely when it was supplied by means of an auto- 
matic feeder, and when with the food a very small 



THE ATLANTIC SALMON 177 

quantity of salt was mixed. Unless better success is 
achieved in some manner it seems certain that the 
Atlantic salmon is doomed in the United States. 

The eggs may be hatched in the same manner 
as those of the brook-trout, although the meshes 
of the hatching-trays must be much larger, or 
the trays replaced by wire baskets. 



CHAPTER Xm 

HATCHING FISHES' EGGS IN JARS 

The national and state institutions hatch in 
glass jars the bulk of the hundreds of millions 
of fish which they plant every year. The eggs 
of nearly all fresh-water and anadromous 
fishes, excepting the trouts and salmons, are in- 
cubated in this manner. No discovery yet 
made in fish-culture has equalled that of the 
hatching- jar. It has made possible fish-culture 
in such huge proportions that the work to-day 
is bounded only by the size of the hatching- 
plants and the amount of money available to 
secure eggs; and it has enabled national and 
state governments to take up "field work" on 
a scale commensurate with its importance, and 
through it to save and hatch the almost count- 
less millions of eggs of ripe fishes caught in 
nets by the commercial fishermen which pre- 

178 



HATCHING FISHES' EGGS IN JAES 179 

viously were nearly all lost or wasted It has 
also rendered possible the gathering and hatch- 
ing of eggs which, through their being unpro- 
tected after being deposited by the parent fish, 
would have been nearly all devoured by spawn- 
eaters. In some instances valuable kinds of 
fishes which had become very scarce have been 
restored in such numbers as to make their 
catching a profitable industry. 

The hatching of fish by the jar method is at 
present useful chiefly to governments for pub- 
lic work, or to fishing clubs that own lakes which 
they desire to stock very heavily, or for per- 
sons who desire to hatch useful fishes which 
they intend to sell as soon as hatched. There 
are at least five different hatching- jars promi- 
nently in use in the United States: the Chase, 
McDonald, Downing Improved, Meehan, and 
Clark. All have their staunch supporters, and 
all are effective egg-workers and incubators. 
A choice would depend upon local or individual 
circumstances and intentions. 

Water for Jars. — In projecting a site for a 
station for jar work the water question is as 
important as in hatching trout, but fortunately 



180 FISH CULTUEE 

there is a greater latitude of choice. The best 
water is that taken from a natural lake having 
no floating sediment; but that from a stream 
will answer admirably, provided it is unpol- 
luted by industrial establishments, or is not 
muddied by storms for too long at a time. 
Some eggs are quickly harmed by mud, while 
others will survive in turbid waters almost 
throughout the period of incubation. When 
the hatchery is for general work, it is not ad- 
visable to use water directly from a spring or 
which is piped directly from one. It is pos- 
sible that fresh spring water may not be harm- 
ful to the eggs of some species of fish but for 
others it is often sure death. 

When the water is introduced by gravity, 
there should be enough at all times in the year 
to fill a six-inch pipe, unless only one battery 
is operated. Under pressure, however, a four- 
inch pipe will supply two batteries with seven 
troughs, each 30 feet long and containing 350 
jars. A six-inch pipe, under pressure, will 
supply with a safe surplus three such batteries. 
To bring the water into the hatching-house by 
gravity is naturally very desirable, because it 



HATCHING FISHES' EGGS IN JAES 181 

involves no cost of maintenance ; when a fall of 
land is not sufficient for this economical method, 
power must be brought into play. The best 
and cheapest pumping machine is a ram. In 
case the instalment of a ram is not feasible, the 
next best means of pumping is by a water- 
wheel. Failing this a pump must be installed 
with some sort of a heat-engine, unless city 
water — usually good enough — may be used. 

For eggs which require a long period to eye, 
like whitefish or lake herring, or those which 
yield to fungus easily, like wall-eyed pike, uni- 
formly clean water is important. For shad 
eggs it is not of such great concern, although 
desirable, and for yellow perch it is a matter 
of little or no moment, except that it makes 
more work. 

Batteries. — Two distinct types of batteries 
are in operation, one very complicated in con- 
struction and the other almost the perfection 
of simplicity. 

The first has both supply and waste troughs, one 
system set lengthwise and the other crosswise. The 
latter are arranged like a flight of steps, with an 
overflow in the centre, for the purpose of enabling 



182 FISH CULTUEE 

the operator to see that a full supply of water is in 
the battery and carrying the fry, when they are 
hatched, to the fry-tanks on the floor. Screens are 
set in the cross tanks so that the fry must take a 
definite route to the fry tanks. The hatching-jars 
are fed from the troughs set lengthwise which are 
fitted with ball-cocks to regulate automatically the 
water-supply in the tubes and pipes. A battery of 
this type is very expensive to build, requires much 
water to operate it, and is now rarely seen. 

The second style of jar-battery is commonly 
called the Alpena pattern, on account of its hav- 
ing been built first in the United States Fish- 
Hatchery at Alpena, Mich. 

The Alpena battery is so simple in design 
that any intelligent carpenter can build one, 
and is also thoroughly efficient and by no means 
costly. An Alpena battery, with a capacity of 
350 jars can be built easily for $150. Its only 
weak point is that the egg-shells and fry are 
carried to the fry-tanks through the troughs 
which supply the jars with water, and may; 
sometimes clog the faucets. 

An Alpena battery is simply a number of 
troughs, all but one being 14 inches wide, 12 
inches deep and as long as desired, set one 



HATCHING FISHES' EGGS IN JAES 183 

above the other from the floor to the eaves of 
the hatching-house, with a space of 5% inches 
between each. The exceptional trough is six 
inches deep instead of twelve, is placed upon 
or near the floor, and is used as a hospital. 
The troughs are not set on a perfect level, but 
with a slight slant so that the water will flow 
better. The top trough slopes a trifle from the 
inflow-tank or supplying pipe ; the one beneath 
slightly towards it, and so on to the bottom or 
hospital trough. 

There are two outflows; one in the trough 
immediately above the top of the fry-tanks, 
which is placed at the end of the building 
farthest from the supplying tank or pipe ; the 
other into the sewer from the hospital trough. 
Arms or brackets, made of wood and shaped 
like a flat dumb-bell with very long handles, are 
fastened at regular intervals across the top of 
each trough excepting the uppermost one. On 
these brackets the jars are set on each side of 
the battery. The water is flowed into the jars 
by means of faucets and tubes from the trough 
above ; and from them by means of the outflow- 
lip into the trough against which they are set. 



184 FISH CULTURE 

The water is flowed into one end of the top 
trough, thence through those below and the 
jars, until it emerges into the fry-tanks or the 
sewer. Thus the water is used over and over 
again not only for the hatching of the eggs but 
for holding of the fry. 

When brought into the house the water may 
be run directly into the top trough by means 
of a pipe, or first flowed into a supplying tank 
or trough and thence by pipe into the battery. 
Each trough of the battery must be of the same 
length, although the ends must not line from 
the bottom to the top, but be staggered end- 
wise, the top trough being short at the end 
farthest from the supply-pipe. The purpose 
of the staggering is to allow the water to fall 
from one trough to the other. To facilitate 
the fall, the top of each end of the trough is cut 
for the depth of an inch, to which is set nearly 
perpendicularly a japanned tin lip. The stag- 
gering need be only just enough to allow the 
water to fall from one trough to another with- 
out spilling on the floor. 

The troughs are held in place by standards, 
three inches by four, reaching from the floor 



HATCHING FISHES' EGGS IN JAES 185 

to the girders of the building. To these are 
fastened cross-pieces on which the troughs rest. 
One-and-one-eighth-inch dressed lumber is 
proper for the troughs and the ends may be 
set flush and not mortised. To facilitate clean- 
ing, a two-inch hole is bored in the bottom of 
each trough at the projecting end. Before 
being used the entire battery inside and out 
should be given a good coat of asphaltum. 
"When made of lumber, only the finest quality 
of white pine, cypress, or some similar type 
of wood entirely free from knots, can be used 
safely; but a battery may be made of galvan- 
ised iron, if it is well asphalted before being 
used, or of concrete. 

Ordinarily when eggs handled in jars begin 
to hatch, the proceedings are marked with great 
expedition and the attendants are kept busy. 
Hundreds of thousands of fry issue simulta- 
neously ; hence it is important to have plenty of 
tank-room to receive them. I have found the 
most convenient fry-tank to be 16 feet long, 
three feet wide, and four feet deep. With a 
battery built as outlined, the eggs of only one 
species of fish can be cared for at a time ; but, 



186 FISH CULTURE 

by the addition of a simple device in the shape 
of a trough of tin or zinc, abont the width of a 
rainwater gutter, set in the trough at one side 
and connecting the ends, two species can be 
handled at one battery simultaneously and the 
fry kept separate. By this means the water 
from all the jars on one side of the battery 
above the fry-tanks flows into the gutter in- 
stead of into the trough itself. The tin trough 
will also be found very convenient when two 
or more fishes spawn at the same time. It 
would be advisable when building the battery 
to provide for the possible contingency of hatch- 
ing two species of fish at the same time, by 
dividing each trough lengthwise by a partition, 
giving each an outflow-lip. 

Suitable Buildings. — A building 60 feet long 
and 32 feet wide, will furnish room for three 
batteries with an aggregate capacity of 1050 
jars, and six fry-tanks. Occasionally there 
may yet be found a hatching-house for jar-work 
in which the table system, with closed McDon- 
ald jars, is still in vogue for temporary serv- 
ices, but this method of hatching fish is rapidly 
passing away. The battery marks as great an 



HATCHING FISHES' EGGS IN JAES 187 

advance over the table system, as the jar over 
the old floating-box. It enables at least a five- 
fold increase in the annual output of fry, with 
the additional advantage that it requires no 
more water. For example, a building holding 
two tables with a total capacity of 120 jars 
would allow the setting up of two batteries of 
the Alpena pattern, holding altogether 550 jars 
and exactly the same amount of water. The 
table is about 3% feet from the floor, about five 
feet wide, with a tank about eight inches deep 
set in the centre, the whole length, and having 
an outflow-pipe at one end into the fry-tanks. 
The jars are arranged in rows along the line 
of the tank with a long rubber hose leading 
therein from the outflow or siphon tube. The 
water-supply is received through a two-inch 
pipe suspended about three feet above the 
table and tapped every six inches by quarter- 
inch pet-cocks. The pet-cocks and the intake 
glass tubes of the jar are connected by means 
of rubber hose. 



CHAPTEE XIV 
CULTUEE OF YELLOW PEECH 

For several years there has been a steadily 
increasing demand for yellow perch, which is 
now regarded as one of the staple market 
fishes, as its flesh is not only very palatable but 
firm and flaky in character. This fact, to- 
gether with rather a tough skin, and heavy, 
tenaciously clinging scales, makes it good to 
keep and ship. 

A number of years ago the United States Fish 
Commission demonstrated the fact that yellow- 
perch eggs could be artificially hatched, but it 
was in Pennsylvania that the work was first 
begun on a large scale. Eggs may be taken 
from the female with almost the same ease as 
from trout, and the milt will flow from the male 
at the slightest pressure of the finger; but ex- 
perience shows that artificial expression and 

188 



CULTUEE OF YELLOW PEKCH 189 

impregnation is not as satisfactory in results 
as raising eggs naturally deposited and fer- 
tilised. Ordinarily a larger percentage of eggs 
can be fertilised by artificial impregnation than 
by natural, but this has not proven so in this 
case. 

Care of the Fish. — Yellow perch can be re- 
tained and cared for in hatchery-ponds as easily 
and numerously as brook-trout. For food they 
take very kindly to cut lungs and liver, and will 
not even disdain bread. They require less 
artificial food than trout because there is for 
them a wider range of natural food. While 
yellow perch may be retained successfully in 
ponds of almost any size, they thrive better in 
those of large area, and should have ponds as 
large as those provided for the black bass. 

It is no trouble whatever to induce yellow 
perch to take artificial food during the spring, 
summer and early autumn ; but after they have 
gone into the kettle in the late autumn it is not 
so easy to feed them successfully. Yet they 
must be induced to eat it, because hatchery- 
ponds contain a minimum amount of natural 
food, and otherwise on the arrival of spring 



190 FISH CULTUEE 

they will not have the proper vitality to prop- 
erly perform the function of spawning. An 
apparatus has been devised by means of which 
it is possible for the fish to feed as successfully 
and certainly when the pond is covered with ice 
as in the summer. It is a basket about one 
foot square, made of quarter-inch wire netting, 
which is filled with cut liver and lowered 
through a hole in the ice until it is about one 
foot above the bottom of the kettle, sustained 
by two wire hangers wrapped around strips of 
wood laid across the hole. In a few minutes 
the perch discover the basket and attack the 
food eagerly, devouring it all in a very little 
while. 

It is important that ponds for yellow perch 
have natural sides, and that they shoal to a 
general depth of not more than two feet, with 
not less than one foot at the sides, with a kettle 
at the outlet deep enough to permit the fish to 
hibernate safely. Water lilies for shade and 
shelter are important, but the grasses are un- 
desirable on account of their unsightly appear- 
ance. In natural waters grasses are almost a 
necessity, as they form excellent means of at- 



CULTUEE OE YELLOW PEECH 191 

tachment for the strings of eggs ; but they are 
not needed in hatchery-ponds for yellow perch 
because equally good if not better material for 
holding spawn can be provided. Brush fas- 
tened to the banks around the sides is gener- 
ally used. 

Spawning Habits. — Considering the average 
small size of the yellow perch, the number of 
eggs which a female will deposit is prodigious, 
and the length of the fertilised string is truly 
marvellous. A medium-sized female will give 
from 30,000 to 50,000 eggs, and there is reason 
to believe that one at her best will furnish more 
than one hundred thousand. Each string is in- 
variably several times longer than the fish 
which deposited it, and after fertilisation and 
hardening is usually more than double the 
weight. It is possible for a fish 18 to 20 inches 
long, perhaps smaller, and less than two pounds 
in weight, to deposit a string of eggs over seven 
feet in length, which will weigh nearly or quite 
three pounds, and will almost fill a four-quart 
measure. The eggs are held together by a 
jelly-like substance, and the ribbon-like string 
appears to be crumpled, so that the eggs dotted 



192 FISH CULTURE 

thickly along it give the whole the appearance 
of a piece of yellowish white, accordion-plaited, 
lace. The string is round and consists of a 
series of concave disks fastened at the centre 
by a thin gelatinous material, so that it much 
resembles a string of winkle eggs. 

The spawning period of a perch varies from 
February to May, depending on the locality and 
temperature of the water. In the lakes of 
north-eastern Pennsylvania the period begins 
about the latter part of April and in the lower 
Delaware between the first and fifth of that 
month. The eggs seem to be deposited most 
abundantly when the water is between 52 and 
54° F. About two weeks before the spawning 
period in the hatchery, thick brush is set firmly 
all around the edges of the ponds, so placed 
that the brush is completely submerged. Each 
piece should be from four to six feet long and 
the more numerous the branches the better. 
No part of the pond must be neglected, because 
the yellow perch is capricious and what would 
be the spawning-spot one year might not be 
the next. The first egg will most certainly be 
hung on the brush in the warmest water. 



CULTURE OF YELLOW PERCH 193 

Spawn is deposited most abundantly a little 
before daylight, but as the season advances fish 
will be found at work at all hours. The strings 
of eggs are laid among the branches of the 
brush, usually one or two feet below the sur- 
face, and occasionally underneath them, on the 
bottom of the pond. They are found very fre- 
quently on the surface, or so near to it that a 
portion of the string is not submerged and 
dies. 

Gathering the Eggs. — After spawning begins 
the pond is to be visited every morning and 
the strings removed, either with the hand or 
by a small, shallow scap-net. The strings, as 
gathered, are put in a bucket containing about a 
quart of water. When the bucket is full, or the 
work done, the eggs are taken to the hatchery 
and placed in the jars for incubation. 

If the eggs are gathered from ponds where 
naturally deposited by wild fish, in addition to 
the bucket and egg-nets a boat, an egg-stick, 
and floating-boxes, are needed. The egg-stick 
is simply a small wand cut from a bush, and 
at its tip must be left the stumps of a couple 
of branches, so as to form a very small fork. 



194 FISH CULTURE 

The floating-box should be about six feet long, 
one foot deep and three feet wide, with bot- 
tom and ends of wire mesh, about sixteen wires 
to the inch. A long piece of scantling is nailed 
to each side of the box at the top, so as to main- 
tain a balance and make it float more buoyantly. 
This box is anchored in the lake in about ten 
feet of water. 

There should be at least two spawn-gatherers 
in the field, and as each man's pail is filled the 
eggs are emptied into the floating-boxes where 
they remain two or three days, if not too far 
advanced towards incubation. They may be 
carried to the hatchery in the ordinary egg- 
cases, or in shipping-cans. The cans should 
first be half filled with water, and not more 
than ten or twelve quarts of eggs placed in any 
one of them unless for a very short distance, 
say ten or twelve miles; even then the number 
ought not to exceed 15 quarts, as more is likely 
to result in many of the eggs being smothered. 

There is nothing in fish-culture so easy to handle 
as yellow-perch eggs. Almost any ordinary bright 
young man who has been working in a hatching-house 
a few weeks can care for the eggs during the entire 



CULTUEE OF YELLOW PERCH 195 

period of incubation. There are no eggs which will 
stand as much rough handling. If they become cov- 
ered with mud they may safely be taken from the jars 
and washed in tubs of water. If any portion of the 
string should die it may be cut or broken away with- 
out any harm whatever to the parts which are alive. 
The one feature of first importance is constant at- 
tention day and night. The jars may be nearly filled 
with eggs, and although they seem to be resting in 
a heavy mass there need be no apprehension of 
smothering. Only a very slight flow of water is re- 
quired, but little more in fact than is needed to fill 
the tubes, preventing air becoming mixed with it, 
and to flutter or oscillate slightly the mass. 

As the eggs are semibuoyant, and at times 
actually buoyant just before hatching, it is im- 
portant that a screen of mosquito-wire be set 
completely around the inside of the top of the 
jar. The change from semibuoyancy to buoy- 
ancy is very sudden, and occurs usually just as 
the eggs are beginning to eye. At this period 
the gelatinous material, which is tough and 
strong when the eggs are first deposited, 
softens, or as it is termed "rots," the string 
breaking into pieces and rising to the surface. 
Were it not for the screen described above, the 



196 FISH CULTURE 

eggs would flow over the top of the jar to the 
floor. A mass of eggs will sometimes rise for 
more than an inch above the top of the jar. It 
is chiefly on account of this proclivity, nay cer- 
tainty, of the eggs to rise that it is necessary to 
have some one in attendance both day and 
night. Another reason for constant supervi- 
sion is the necessity for closely watching the 
water-flow; as, owing to the small quantity 
used, any slight obstruction in the faucet will 
completely stop it. Sometimes, owing to 
changes in the specific gravity of the eggs, the 
flow must be increased or diminished. It often 
happens that during the period of incubation 
every faucet in a hatchery will have to be 
changed within twelve hours. When a rise in 
perch eggs occurs, the attendant must stop the 
flow of water immediately, and with his hand 
or a feather gently push the mass to the bot- 
tom, where, after about five minutes, the eggs 
will settle quietly. Then the water can be 
turned on again slowly and cautiously. It may 
be half an hour or more before a rise will oc- 
cur again, if at all. 



CULTUEE OF YELLOW PERCH 197 

The average spawning-period of the yellow 
perch is from twelve to fifteen days, although, 
as with the eggs of all other fish, the time may 
be shortened or lengthened according to the 
rising or lowering of the temperature of the 
water. 

Yellow-perch Fry. — Newly hatched yellow 
perch are minute and almost colourless, and can 
scarcely be seen in the water. Their yolk-sac 
is not heavy, so that they swim freely almost 
from the moment they emerge from the egg. 
On account of the tiny size of the newly hatched 
fry the out-flow of the tank into which they are 
carried from the battery must be screened with 
some very finely meshed material, as copper- 
gauze wire or cheese-cloth. 

The absorption of the yolk-sac and early 
growth of the yellow perch are very rapid, and 
by the end of a month the fry will be a sturdy 
youngster nearly an inch long and schooling 
with thousands of his kind in shoal water ; and 
by the end of the year under favourable con- 
ditions he will be four or five inches long. 
After that the growth, as with most other 



198 FISH CULTUEE 

fishes, is much slower, nature devoting herself 
to giving the fish girth and weight rather than 
length. 

Death is always busy among young fish 
hatched in huge quantities from the eggs of a 
single parent. Loss from other causes than 
death is also great among minute fry, in the 
majority of cases at least 90 per cent. This 
would be appalling and discouraging, were not 
the spawn furnished by the female yellow perch 
almost limitless in amount. A string of 50,000 
eggs will yield after all losses about 5,000 fish 
a year old, probably three times the yield in 
nature. A single hatching- jar would hold in 
the neighbourhood of 600,000 eggs, so that one 
jar alone would yield about 60,000 yearlings. 

Owing to the great loss during the first few 
weeks after hatching, it is necessary to stock 
very heavily a pond intended for rearing pur- 
poses. The amount of yellow-perch fry intro- 
duced should be at least sixty or seventy times 
the number of yearlings which it would com- 
fortably carry. This is an important point be- 
cause it is not necessary to do any sorting the 
first year. Although a carnivorous fish, the 



CULTURE OF YELLOW PERCH 199 

growth is more nearly even in yellow perch than 
in its distant relative the black bass, and the 
loss from cannibalism is therefore not as great. 



CHAPTER XV 

REARING PICKEREL AND MUSCAL- 
LONGE 

The pike family is represented in Europe, 
Asia and America, and the species vary in 
weight at maturity from half a pound to nearly 
150 pounds. The heaviest American species 
are called muscallonge* ; certain other members 
are called pike, and others pickerel. The word 
"pickerel" means little pike, and North Amer- 
ica possesses two or three species, one of which 
is the "chain pickerel," a favourite food and 
game fish, distinguished by the chain-like re- 
ticulations of colour which cover the sides of 
its body. All the other pickerels and pikes 
have bands or bars. 

The pikes prefer large bodies of water or 
deep and very sluggish streams having many 

* The spelling of this Indian word is not generally agreed 
upon. The Standard Dictionary prefers maskinonge. 

200 



PICKEREL AND MUSCALLONGE 201 

submerged logs, stumps, and aquatic plants. 
Among these, the pike, solitary in its habits, 
rests perfectly motionless, waiting for the com- 
ing of its prey. When within a few feet, the 
pike, galvanised into life, darts forth with 
lightning-like rapidity, seizes its victim and 
returns to its lair. There, often, it will play 
with its captive as a cat does with a mouse, and 
wait some time before swallowing it. 

Some anglers regard the pickerel as a high- 
class game-fish. Others place it on a very much 
lower level. In food-quality the chain pickerel, 
despite the many small sharp bones in its chest, 
holds a very respectable place in the market, 
and meets with ready sale. The flesh of the 
muscallonge ranks high, and both it and the 
chain pickerel deserve greater attention than 
they receive from fish-culturists. New York 
State alone propagates the muscallonge, but no 
public hatchery exists for pickerel, yet its prop- 
agation is very easy. 

Propagation of Pickerel. — Eggs may be 
pressed from the female without any trouble 
whatever; the eggs however, are glutinous, and 
have to be thoroughly rubbed and cleaned after 



202 FISH CULTURE 

fertilising, and before being placed in the hatch- 
ing-jars, where the treatment should be the 
same as that for whitefish or shad. It is pos- 
sible to gather eggs of the pickerel naturally- 
deposited, but it is better to keep the fish in 
captivity and take the eggs from them by ex- 
pression. A pond of three-fourths of an acre 
or an acre will contain many hundreds of 
pickerel in good health and condition if they are 
liberally fed with live food, for the pickerel will 
take only a moving life-like object. 

Spawning begins very early in the year, soon 
after the ice disappears ; but the spawning sea- 
son is very short, and the hatching period is 
about two weeks. As the pickerel is strongly 
a carnivorous fish, it is important that the fry 
be not placed in the same ponds with mature 
specimens, but kept in smaller ponds, as would 
be done with any other carnivorous species. 
Growth is very rapid, and cannibalism, even 
among the young, strongly developed, hence 
persons desiring to rear their stock to maturity 
must expect heavy loss from this quarter. 

Among the members of the pike family are 
four which attain large proportions and weight. 



PICKEEEL AND MUSCALLONGE 203 

The muscallonge (Esox masquinongy) is the 
largest of these, and attains a length of eight 
feet and sometimes a weight of more than 100 
pounds. Its habitat is the Great Lakes, the 
upper St. Lawrence Eiver and Canada. A 
second species {Esox lucius) is a native of New 
York State and the Ohio Eiver basin northward, 
a Third (Esox immaculatus) is rarely met ex- 
cept in the lakes of northern Wisconsin and 
Minnesota. A fourth species is Esox ohiensis, 
most abundant in Chautauqua Lake, New York, 
because persistently propagated there. The 
three last named each reach a weight of from 
40 to 50 pounds and a length of four or five 
feet. All rank high as game fishes and the flesh 
of each is greatly esteemed. 

The fishery authorities of New York State 
were the first to undertake to propagate mus- 
callonge artificially, which began at Chautauqua 
Lake in 1888, under the care of E. W. Irwin and 
Jonathan Mason; but very primitive methods 
were pursued until superseded a few years 
ago by the hatching-jar. 

Cultivating Muscallonge. — For tKe greater 
part of the year the muscallonge lives in deep 



204 FISH CULTURE 

water, usually in the vicinity of aquatic plants. 
As soon as the ice leaves the lake in the spring 
the fish make ready for spawning and by the 
latter part of April this function is concluded. 
The eggs are deposited in water usually less 
than 10 feet deep, and sometimes as shallow as 
six feet, preferably in muddy bays. The males 
are usually smaller than females of the same 
age, and very little milt suffices to fertilise a 
large number of eggs. The species is very 
prolific. A fish weighing 35 pounds will yield 
265,000 eggs, each about an eleventh of an inch 
in diameter, 74,000 filling a quart-measure. 

Muscallonge eggs are separate, nonadhesive, 
and semibuoyant, and under favourable cir- 
cumstances 97 per cent, have been hatched. At 
55°F. they will hatch in 15 days; and the yolk 
sac is absorbed in about 15 days more. When 
first hatched the fry is so heavy that it is un- 
able to swim from the jars into the battery 
trough. The eggs, therefore, should be trans- 
ferred, when the fry are about ready to emerge 
from the shell, to trays set in boxes placed in 
the troughs. The boxes are fitted with wire 
at each end to insure a direct and uninterrupted 



PICKEREL AND MUSCALLONGE 205 

flow of water, and to prevent the banking of 
the fry at the lower end. 

When in a wild state the black bass is prob- 
ably one of the greatest cannibals that swims 
in fresh water; but in confinement it cannot 
match the cannibalism of young muscallonge. 
A few years ago the superintendent of the 
Corry, Pa., hatchery placed 5000 fry in a 
pond about fifty by twenty feet, and at the 
end of three months there was one muscallonge 
left, and that was eaten by a water-bird. It is 
therefore essential to plant the young fish be- 
fore, or as soon as, the yolk-sac has been ab- 
sorbed. 

Gloves are used in taking the eggs of the 
muscallonge so that the fish can be held more 
firmly and be less liable to injury; sometimes 
two men are necessary to hold a large fish and 
express the eggs and milt. Muscallonge eggs 
may be hatched on trays the same as trout, in 
water with a temperature of 46° F. ; the incuba- 
tion period is sixty days. 

The culture of pickerel and muscallonge pre- 
sents no difficulties when the eggs can be ob- 
tained from wild fish, and there is no difficulty 



206 FISH CULTUEE 

in retaining the brood-fish in hatching-ponds, 
where they will live safely for an indefinite 
period provided the ponds are large and deep 
enough. I have kept several of the Chautauqua 
Lake muscallonge for more than a year in a 
pond 100 feet long and 30 feet wide, with a 
water-depth of from three to five feet. These 
fish ripened both eggs and milt. 



CHAPTER XVI 

WHITE PERCH, STRIPED BASS, 
SMELTS AND SUCKERS 

Striped bass and white perch represent two 
extremes of size and weight in the family to 
which they belong; the first is a fierce and 
powerful fish, the second is no larger than some 
minnows, and qniet and unobtrusive. Widely 
separated as they are in regard to size, char- 
acter and habits, they are held in equally high 
esteem as game and food. In the fury and 
vigour of its rushes when hooked, the first re- 
sembles the black bass; the second the brook- 
trout, in its dainty, delicate struggles. In many 
places the striped bass and white perch are 
diminishing in numbers, and both have given 
the fish-culturist some trouble in their propaga- 
tion. 

A failure on the part of some states to give the 
striped bass proper protection when entering the 

207 



208 FISH CULTURE 

rivers to spawn, particularly the "mammy rock," or 
striped bass of 20 pounds or over, is responsible for 
much of the diminishing supply. Loose methods of 
fishing have had something to do with lessening the 
number of white perch in many places, but as great 
a factor is the unsuspicious character of the fish. Like 
its cousin, the yellow perch, it is greedy. All the 
members of a school will continue to bite at the 
baited hook during the entire feeding period, un- 
afraid, and regardless of the disappearance of their 
companions. Hence, although the white perch is a 
prolific breeder, it is not a difficult matter to deplete 
waters in which they should be abundant. 

Compared to the numbers which were there a quar- 
ter of a century ago, white perch are scarce in the 
Delaware River to-day, and they are also decreasing 
in the Chesapeake Bay. There are signs of improve- 
ment in the latter waters through the artificial propa- 
gation conducted by the national government, and, 
for a short period, by Maryland. This good work 
has been hampered in the Delaware River by dif- 
ficulty in getting ripe fish in sufficient numbers to 
make it worth while to operate a hatchery during the 
spawning season. 

White Perch. — White perch ripen about 
April. Spawn-takers in the Chesapeake strip 
the fish, caught in nets for the market, by the 
dry method. When first taken the eggs aver- 



WHITE PEECH, SMELTS, ETC. 209 

age 29 to the linear inch, and after they have 
been water-hardened the number is only de- 
creased by one ; they are among the very small- 
est known, a quart containing about 1,600,000. 
White-perch eggs are very adhesive, and when 
stripped into an ordinary tin pan are extremely 
difficult to handle; therefore porcelain-lined 
pans should be used, and the eggs stirred con- 
stantly with the tail of the fish while the milt is 
being applied. If this is not done, the chances 
are that a large percentage of the eggs will fail 
to fertilise. 

After the eggs have been fertilised, washed, 
and hardened, they are placed in jars at a bat- 
tery, and cared for the same as shad's eggs. 

A peculiarity of the white-perch eggs is that 
while yet undeveloped they are white and hard, 
almost opaque, so that it is extremely difficult 
to distinguish good eggs from bad. It is there- 
fore unsafe, until after the eyes have developed, 
to clean up any portion of a jar or throw away 
its contents excepting where there are signs of 
fungus, as it is not unusual for a large per- 
centage of eggs, all presumably bad, to sud- 
denly eye and hatch. Fortunately for the 



210 FISH CULTURE 

nerves of the culturist, the days of suspense are 
not long. When the water temperature is 
about 60 degrees, the eggs will hatch in from 
48 to 52 hours. If the temperature is from 68 
to 70 degrees, the little fish will emerge from 
the shell in about twenty-four hours in the Mc- 
Donald closed-top jars, after they have been 
held from six to twelve hours in jars without 
tops or caps. 

Every one who has had experience in hatch- 
ing pike-perch dreads the deadly fungus during 
the period of incubation, and those who have the 
care of white-perch eggs declare that they are 
equally liable to be similarly attacked. It is 
not surprising that this should be the case, be- 
cause of their adhesive character, together with 
the higher water temperatures, both of which 
are favourable to the appearance and spread of 
fungus. On this account it is advisable to carry 
only a small quantity in each jar. 

Striped Bass. — Personally I have no expe- 
rience in the propagation of striped bass. The 
United States Bureau of Fisheries has been ex- 
perimenting with the problem for some years, 
and in 1904 Mr. S. G. Worth, one of its superin- 

V 



WHITE PERCH, SMELTS, ETC. 211 

tendents, presented a paper on the subject to 
the American Fisheries Society of which the 
following is a synopsis : 

The operations were conducted at Weldon, North 
Carolina, and occupied twenty-three days, beginning 
with May 2nd. The water temperature of the river 
ranged from 60 to 70 degrees. The smallest ripe fish 
weighed three pounds and the largest 50 pounds. The 
smallest fish gave 14,000 eggs, the largest 3,220,000, 
green in colour when fresh. Jars were used in hatch- 
ing; but a number of floating boxes were needed in 
addition, since the eggs of one fish weighing 50 pounds 
would fill over 300 jars. Fully 69 per cent, was 
hatched. When the fry were about four hours old 
they were approximately three-sixteenths of an inch 
long, and at four days they averaged one-fourth of 
an inch in length; at four weeks they had reached a 
length of nearly half an inch with the fins easily dis- 
cernible, and on close inspection the stripes on the 
sides were visible. With the water temperature be- 
tween 60 and 70 degrees, the eggs hatch quickly. The 
period of incubation is only about four days. 

Since the publication of his paper Mr. Worth 
has made a number of additional reports to the 
Bureau of Fisheries, in whose publications they 
may be consulted by any one interested. The 
special weakness of the earlier work, the hatch- 



212 FISH CULTURE 

ing of the eggs was corrected in the following 
manner, quoting Mr. Worth's account: 

11 A better per cent, in hatching could have been 
gained by the earlier adoption of the pitcher-mouthed 
tops of the Universal hatching-jars, which were ex- 
perimented with, for the first time, during the season 
covered by this report. I had already been aware 
that losses of fry, already hatched and delivered into 
aquaria, were excessively large at times, and I am of 
the fixed opinion that the cause was to be found in 
having the fry struggle through outlet tubes of the 
Universal jar. . . It is necessary to supply an auxiliary 
of canvas to the lipped jar-top, in order to let the 
fish down gradually into the aquarium. Hatched and 
handled in this way, the results are all that could be 
desired, for every good egg developed and all the fry 
lived. It would be a waste of time and material to 
undertake the hatching of striped bass in the Mc- 
Donald tidal box, as the separation of bad and good 
eggs would be impracticable, and there is a percent- 
age of bad eggs in every lot." 

The Smelt. — Like the striped bass, the smelt 
is an anadromous fish, entering fresh water 
from the sea early in the spring for reproduc- 
tive purposes. It prefers rapidly running 
streams with stony or gravelly bottoms, on 
which the female deposits in vast quantities 



WHITE PEECH, SMELTS, ETC. 213 

eggs so adhesive that they form a thick mat. 
They become so firmly attached to the bottom 
and to each other that it is difficult to remove 
them without damaging a great quantity and 
taking along stones and gravel. The fish en- 
ter the streams in such crowds that I have seen 
bottoms thickly covered by eggs almost from 
shore to shore, and for a distance of over 100 
yards. 

New York was the first state to undertake the 
propagation of the smelt, and its fishery au- 
thorities hatched from 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 
annually. The smelts are caught in nets and 
transported to troughs on the hatchery grounds 
similar in construction to a trout-hatching 
trough, but without gravel of any kind. About 
eight inches of water is flowed through them, 
and the apparatus is kept covered by boards. 
Smelts do not seem to mind their capture and 
yield their spawn freely. The eggs are so 
minute that it requires nearly 500,000 to fill a 
quart-measure. 

Every morning, the hatchery men shovel 
the eggs from the troughs into buckets partly 
filled with water. The thick masses of eggs are 



214 FISH CULTURE 

then sieved through wire trays of very fine 
mesh, care being taken that the work is done in 
the gloom of the hatching-house. The screen is 
held in a tub of water close to the surface, and 
as the eggs are rubbed through they fall to the 
bottom. The sieving is repeated two or three 
times until the eggs are entirely free from each 
other and do not adhere. They are then trans- 
ferred to hatching- jars. 

At Cold Spring Harbor, New York, where the 
bulk of this work is done, the McDonald auto- 
matic jar and the old table system is used ; but 
the eggs can be hatched in the open Downing 
improved, or in the Meehan jar, quite as effec- 
tually. It has been found that excessive light, 
or even as much light as is ordinarily admitted 
in a hatching-house for pike-perch, shad, and 
most fishes, is fatal to smelt eggs; therefore 
after the jars have been put in place, and the 
water turned on, a black curtain should be hung 
on each side of the battery, so that the eggs 
will be in complete darkness. Although the 
eggs are very adhesive, and frequently "ball" 
in the same manner as pike-perch eggs, they are 
very easily handled. It is only necessary to 



WHITE PEBCH, SMELTS, ETC. 215 

remove the jar, rub the eggs again through a 
tray, and return it to the battery. The period 
of incubation is from fifteen to twenty days ac- 
cording to the temperature of the water. 

Although living the greater part of the year 
in salt water, smelts can be easily transported 
to fresh water, where they will live and mul- 
tiply. They are so numerous, for example, in 
Lake Champlain that their catching is a local 
industry. They appear to grow more rapidly 
and to a greater size there than in salt water. 
The same may be said of the white perch. 
Along the coast of Massachusetts are many 
ponds which years ago were connected with the 
ocean by open channels, and were favourite re- 
sorts for white perch. Communication with the 
sea has since been cut off, so that the white 
perch have become land-locked; but they have 
accommodated themselves to their new environ- 
ments, assumed a darker hue and acquired a 
greater size and weight. 

Suckers. — A dissertation on the propagation 
of the sucker may cause a shock to some, sur- 
prise to others, derision from more, and pro- 
tests from a few. One division of mankind re- 



216 FISH CULTUEE 

gards, or affects to regard, the sucker as a 
worthless fish to be pursued and destroyed as 
relentlessly as a potato bug. Those who seri- 
iously take this view, do so on the ground that 
it is destructive as a spawn-eater, and that it 
is equally responsible with the "hog" fisher- 
men and water-pollution for the depopulation 
of trout-streams. A second division of human 
kind considers the sucker as valueless for food 
purposes — a fish with soft watery flesh and 
numerous thorn-like bones. A third division, 
nearly as large as the other two combined, does 
not care how much trout-spawn a sucker may 
eat, or of what sins it may be accused; and 
pities the man, and considers him lacking in 
taste, who belittles the food-qualities of the 
sucker. The great majority of those who relish 
the flesh of a well-cooked sucker or mullet, 
boldly and without shame avow their prefer- 
ence for it over any species of fish which swims 
in fresh water. Few of them hesitate to affirm 
that in the spring, while the water is yet cold, 
the flesh of the sucker is firm and as palatable 
as that of the brook-trout. 
Experiments in propagating the sucker were 



WHITE PERCH, SMELTS, ETC. 217 

conducted in 1907 at Wayne, Pa., by Nathan 
Buller, who reported that at his station the 
suckers began to ripen about June 1, and 
by the 12th most of them were ready for spawn- 
ing. It was found to be remarkably easy to 
take the eggs and milt, handled exactly as with 
brook-trout. The eggs passed from the female 
separately and as freely as those of the char, 
while the milt was extracted with ease. The 
fish were handled with great care, given a 
salt bath immediately after the stripping, and 
of the two or three dozen used none died. 
Each female, which was the size of the ordi- 
nary adult, yielded approximately 5,000 eggs. 
When first expressed, they were about the size 
of the spawn of lake-herring and of a whitish 
flesh-colour. They were treated the same as 
trout-eggs, and there was no adhesion during 
the period of resting and washing. 

After fertilising and washing, the eggs were 
set aside for a quarter of an hour. Impregna- 
tion and water-hardening left the eggs round 
and increased the size about one half. In three 
days they changed to an oval form and showed 
a distinctly light spot, similar in shape to the 



218 FISH CULTURE 

circle of a " ringer" trout-egg. For a while it 
was thought by Mr. Buller that the eggs were 
all ringers, but after close watching it was seen 
that the ring kept changing and growing larger 
until the tenth day, when the outline of the em- 
bryonic fish became visible without a distinct 
sign of the head or eyes. On the 15th day the 
young fish began to break from the shell and 
by the twentieth they were all out. "When they 
first emerged, the fry were white and possessed 
a very heavy yolk-sac, which was entirely ab- 
sorbed in five days. 

Subsequently sucker propagation was tried 
by other fish-culturists with equal success, using 
jars instead of troughs. No trouble whatever 
was met with during the process of incubation. 
The eggs remained free, and during the entire 
period there was no indication of fungus. 



CHAPTEE XVII 
FROG CULTURE 

A few years ago the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, through its Department of 
Fisheries, began a series of experiments in 
frog-culture. The work was regarded as of 
tremendous importance, and it was watched 
with deep interest by fish-culturists all over the 
world. The effort to confine frogs and rear 
them to a marketable size was novel, and if suc- 
cessful would form a foundation of a great in- 
dustry in which farmers would be the chief par- 
ticipants. 

Frogs' legs have a very important place in 
the market of this country. Years ago the 
French were called a nation of frog-eaters, but 
France is no longer pre-eminent in this respect. 
The United States is now the chief consumer of 
this delicious food. For several years the de- 
mand has far exceeded the supply, and their 

219 



220 FISH CULTUEB 

cost is so high that frogs' legs are only within 
reach of the well-to-do. 

Experiments and Problems. — At the time 
that Pennsylvania began experimenting there 
were no establishments in the eastern United 
States where frogs were reared. The entire 
supply was derived from wild frogs, the great 
bulk coming from the West and from Canada. 
Pennsylvania soon ascertained that frog-cul- 
ture presents about as many difficult problems 
as did the earlier work with black bass, and also 
some which are not encountered in any branch 
of fish culture proper. The results were just 
sufficiently encouraging to warrant a strong 
hope of success at some future time. One dis- 
heartening feature is the frequency of the com- 
plete loss of young tadpoles. Often twenty- 
four hours will include the beginning and end 
of events which lead to complete disaster. On 
one occasion, while on a visit to one of the state 
hatcheries, I was shown a pond containing thou- 
sands of apparently healthy tadpoles. By the 
next morning every tadpole had disappeared. 
They had died, gases had generated, their 
bodies had burst, and the skins had sunk to the 



FEOG CULTUEE 221 

bottom of the pond and been buried in the nmd. 

Three Edible Frogs, — Three species were 
used in the experiments in Pennsylvania, — the 
leopard, the green, and the common bullfrog. 
The first is too small to be of much use for the 
food-market, but is much sought after by 
sportsmen as bait for certain game-fishes. The 
green frog has the reputation of being the most 
delicately flavoured; while the bullfrog is most 
hunted on account of its huge size, and the fact 
that there is meat to be found on portions of its 
back, and on the shoulders of the forelegs, as 
well as on the full length of the hind legs. 

Partly because of the short time elapsing be- 
tween the hatching of the tadpole and its devel- 
opment into a frog, and partly because it 
spawns early in April, the initial experiments 
were with the leopard frog, but it soon became 
manifest that it is not worth while to undertake 
the propagation of this small species except for 
the purpose of supplying anglers with bait. It 
was found that there is apparently less likeli- 
hood of complete failure in attempts to propa- 
gate the green, and the bullfrog, but the diffi- 
culties accompanying the work are legion, and 



222 FISH CULTUEE 

no man, until these difficulties are removed, can 
expect to engage in frog-farming with any 
marked degree of success. 

In some respects the growing and mature 
leopard frog is easier to handle than the green 
or the bullfrog, because it is more gregarious 
in its habits. The green frog and the bullfrog 
are both solitary in their ways of living, and 
even during spawning time do not naturally 
come together in great numbers. Not so the 
leopard frog. Early in the spring, just before 
spawning, they gather by thousands in swampy 
places, where there are still pools of clear fresh 
water, and set up shrill peepings, incessant day 
and night, until the united volume of sound is 
almost deafening. It is at this time, and even 
a little later, that the marked difference be- 
tween the habits of the leopard and the bull- 
frog are most pronounced. Amid the multi- 
tude of shrill cries, there will only occasionally, 
and at varied intervals, resound through the 
night, and sometimes in the daytime, the heavy 
booming notes of the bullfrog. 

Whatever frog-farming is done in the United 
States is rudimentary. It is said that little or 



FROG CULTURE 223 

no attempt is made to separate tadpoles, young 
frogs, and frogs of mature market size. One 
man in Michigan, who had been carrying on the 
industry for 25 years, finally abandoned it as 
unprofitable u because the big frogs ate the 
little frogs, the little frogs ate the pollywogs, 
the large pollywogs ate the small pollywogs, and 
birds ate both." Frog culture is, therefore, a 
decided risk. 

Site. — It seems probable that a profitable 
frog-farm requires three acres or more of land. 
About two acres ought to be occupied by a 
single pond ; and a similar area by half a dozen 
or more smaller bodies of water for tadpoles and 
immature frogs. Any swampy or low-lying tract 
through which a stream of water flows will 
answer the purpose. The stream need be only 
sufficient to keep the ponds from becoming stag- 
nant and foul. Water enough to fill a four- 
inch pipe will furnish an ample supply for a 
plant of three acres, and perhaps for one of 
six acres. It is unimportant whether the sup- 
ply is secured directly from a spring or from 
a brook, and repeated roiliness is not harmful 
to either tadpoles or frogs. 



224 FISH CULTURE 

Three sizes of ponds are necessary; one, the 
smallest, for hatching eggs and carrying the 
tadpoles 'to frog development ; a second, much 
larger, to hold young frogs until they are over 
two years old; the third and the largest, for 
three-year-olds and over. All ponds should be 
excavated and have a generous strip of grass- 
covered ground around them. It is also desir- 
able that there be a low embankment all around, 
so that occasionally the water may be raised 
and the entire area flooded to a depth of an inch 
or two for a few hours, in order to keep the soil 
wet, — a condition dear to the heart of a frog. 

Each of the small ponds must be surrounded 
by a fence so constructed that young frogs can- 
not escape, and it would be well similarly to en- 
close the large pond intended for mature frogs. 
The creatures are nomadic in their habits, and 
have been known to leave suddenly an appar- 
ently very desirable body of water for no as- 
certainable reason, and take up their quarters 
in what, to the human mind, seemed an inferior 
location. 

The fence need not be more than 2% feet 
high, but on the top there should be a board or 



FROG CULTURE 225 

a strip of muslin at least six inches wide, pro- 
jecting horizontally inward, so that frogs 
which succeed in climbing to the top cannot go 
any further. A frog can climb almost any- 
thing vertical, short of a smoothly planed board, 
and in trying to escape will display astonish- 
ing perseverance. Specimens have been seen 
clambering laboriously to a horizontal board 
and dropping invariably to the ground after 
reaching the top, only to repeat the effort again 
and again for hours at a time. 

Ponds designed to hold frogs or tadpoles 
through the winter season must have soft 
muddy bottoms into which they can burrow and 
hibernate. It is also desirable that the banks 
of all ponds for fully developed frogs have 
sloping sides, so that the creatures can easily 
be screened to prevent their escape. 

The average depth of the smaller ponds may 
be only a foot and a half or two feet ; or a little 
more than the thickness of the heaviest ice 
likely to form in winter. A kettle is not as 
necessary as in a pond built for propagating 
warm-water fishes, yet it would probably be 
beneficial. A large pond for the adults may be 



226 FISH CULTUEE 

built across a stream of water, provided the 
latter is of moderate size, and is not subjected 
to any floods; but if the pond is so con- 
structed the upper end must be carefully 
screened to prevent escape of the captives. 

As frogs subsist entirely upon living crea- 
tures, and will devour nothing dead, all ponds 
excepting those designed exclusively for tad- 
poles, must contain an abundance of water- 
grasses and flowering aquatic plants. Pond- 
lilies are particularly effective. It is also de- 
sirable that flowering plants which thrive in 
wet places be maintained on the strips of 
ground around the ponds, as flowers and 
grasses attract insects and other small forms 
of life upon which frogs feed. 

Each pond for hatching eggs and caring for 
tadpoles of the leopard species, should be at 
least 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. There is 
no necessity for it to be surrounded by a patch 
of grassy ground, nor to contain lilies and 
other flowering plants, because tadpoles will 
readily feed on dead fish and liver. Almost 
any kind of bottom will answer for tadpoles of 
the leopard frog. As this species is of little 



FEOG CULTUEE 227 

value, excepting to sportsmen for use as bait 
for fishing, the hatching-pond should be sur- 
rounded by a fence, because there will be no 
need to transfer the young after their meta- 
morphosis to other and larger ponds. 

As frogs almost invariably, when in the 
water, keep near the shore, it would probably 
be economy to make the ponds very narrow, not 
more than 20 or 30 feet wide. They might be 
in the nature of ditches, winding and twisting 
over the property. 

The entire period, from the time the eggs of 
the leopard frogs are fertilised until the frogs 
are ready to be sold to the sporting-goods men, 
is only between three and four months. Hence, 
if this species is propagated for that purpose, 
and success is achieved, the returns are quick, 
and the season soon over. 

Ponds for hatching green frogs and bullfrogs 
should be almost, if not quite, as large as those 
intended for the holding of the yearling and 
two-year-olds, and they should be just as deep. 
Pennsylvania found that ponds 275 feet long 
and 60 feet wide developed thousands of the 
tadpoles of the common green frog under fa- 



228 FISH CULTURE 

vourable circumstances, and would hold them 
for a year. A pond sixty by twenty feet de- 
veloped only 10,000 green frogs. 

Ordinarily, tadpoles of the common bull- 
frogs hatched one season do not develop into 
frogs until late in the spring, or early in the 
summer, of the following year; therefore the 
bottom of the tadpole pond should in this case 
have soft mud, at least a foot or two deep, and 
also grasses as resting places for the tadpoles. 
Tadpoles develop into frogs more quickly, and 
with less danger of loss, when they have some- 
thing on which they may occasionally rest. 

Leopard frogs spawn in April and the eggs 
are fertilised as they issue from the female. 
They pass from her in a string-like mass that 
almost instantly combines into a ball, which in 
a short while is from three to four times the 
size of the frog. Each egg is surrounded by 
a nearly colourless, gelatinous material, in 
which each egg is plainly discernible, and is 
black in colour when perfectly fresh. There 
are about 3,500 to a liquid quart. As the eggs 
approach development there occur several 
marked changes in colour. Sometimes the 



FEOG CULTUKE 229 

egg-masses are allowed to float freely in the 
pool in which they are deposited; sometimes, 
they are submerged and fastened to stems of 
water-plants and branches of bushes. The 
leopard frog deposits its spawn in pools on 
which the sun plays. It is rare to find eggs 
in dark places where the sunlight does not 
penetrate. 

If a person intends to attempt the propaga- 
tion of the leopard frog, there is seldom any 
necessity for maintaining breeders on his 
establishment, unless he purposes to market 
them for food, because the chances are, that 
from the edges of nearby swamps he can secure 
all the eggs for rearing that he requires. Ten 
quarts of leopard frog eggs are all that 
should be put in a pond of 60 feet by 20 feet, 
since that area of water will not safely carry 
more than 40,000 tadpoles past the develop- 
ment stage. A lesser number would be a 
greater exhibition of prudence. Overcrowd- 
ing, even during the first three or four days 
after hatching, is almost certain to result in 
the loss of the entire stock, the most exasperat- 
ing feature of which is that it generally does 



230 FISH CULTURE 

not occur until within a few days of the time 
when the hind legs should appear. 

As the metamorphosis seems to draw heavily 
upon the vitality of the tadpole, it is important 
that the normal growth and strength be fully 
maintained both by plenty of water room and 
an abundance of food. Over-crowding will 
almost invariably result in stunted growth and 
consequently lowered vitality, even if they 
appear to be healthy and are active until the 
very last. As the majority of a single hatch- 
ing usually develops legs almost simultane- 
ously, it generally happens that when there 
has been over-crowding, thousands will die 
within a few hours. Each tadpole is then only 
a shape of thick skin filled with a soft mushy 
material, without bones. In an hour or so 
after death this mushy material decomposes, 
the skin bursts and sinks to the bottom. The 
water, thus polluted, will probably kill the rest, 
and it is not an uncommon occurrence for the 
entire stock in the pond to die and utterly dis- 
appear within twenty-four hours. 

Enemies. — Tadpoles have myriads of enemies. 
The most destructive to the leopard and the 



FEOG CULTUBE 231 

green frog is the fully developed daphnia. 
These minute, crab-like creatures cling to 
each tadpole by hundreds and thousands, 
sometimes completely covering the body, and 
so sapping the strength of the victim as 
to cause its death. The tadpole of the bull- 
frog is also subjected to similar attacks, but 
apparently not to the same extent, nor with 
as frequent fatality, since it is hatched later 
in the season and from its size seems to be able 
to offer greater powers of resistance. 

Another dreaded enemy of the tadpole, 
particularly of the leopard species, is the larva 
of the water-beetle. This hideous creature is 
from four to five inches long, hangs in the 
water with its tail at the surface, and, stealing 
upon a tadpole as it passes, drives its power- 
ful mandibles into its body and sucks the con- 
tents into its stomach. A few thousand larvae 
of the water beetle will destroy a small pond of 
tadpoles in a few days. When they appear, 
there is only one thing to do ; have all the force 
on the place wade through the pond with scap 
nets and dip out the destructive creatures. 

Feeding. — Tadpoles will devour almost any 



232 FISH CULTURE 

kind of meat, but the best is fresh dead fish. 
Forty thousand tadpoles will easily consume 
25 pounds of fish weekly. If desired, the fish 
may be ground or cut into pieces, but a few 
may be thrown whole into a pond. In a few 
moments the carcass will be completely covered 
by hundreds of tadpoles, and before very long 
there will be nothing left but a skeleton. 

Development. — When the period of met- 
amorphosis approaches, the tadpoles take less 
and less food, until, just before the change 
takes place, they cease eating altogether. 
Then the hind legs push out, ridiculously small 
for the size of the body. A day or two after- 
wards in the case of the leopard frog, and a 
week or two in the cases of the green frog and 
bullfrog, the forelegs break suddenly through 
the skin. When this occurs, the half-frog re- 
ceives sustenance by absorption from the con- 
tents of its tail, as the fry of a fish absorbs 
the contents of the yolk-sac, or a plant the con- 
tents of the seed-leaves. The process causes 
the tail to become smaller and smaller, until 
finally there is only a small point at the base 



FROG CULTURE 233 

of the backbone, which remains all through 
life. 

The period required for the absorption of 
the tail depends on the species and the tem- 
perature of the water. The tail of the leopard 
frog disappears much more quickly than that 
of either the green or the bullfrog. The tad- 
pole of the green frog is about as large again as 
that of the leopard frog. The tadpole of the 
bullfrog is conspicuous both for its length and 
girth, and specimens six inches and more long 
are not rare. 

The rule to sort and grade frequently fish 
into sizes holds good in frog-culture. It is 
strictly a carnivorous creature. It will in no 
circumstances eat anything but living food 
after the time it is fully developed from the 
tadpole. It will not only eat live fish and in- 
sects, but shows a decided inclination to can- 
nibalism. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE MANAGEMENT OF AN AQUARIUM 

An aquarium for fish or other aquatic life 
is within the reach of almost any one. Recep- 
tacles for holding and displaying live fishes 
have come to be considered almost a matter 
of course as a part of the house furnishing, 
and more or less suitable vessels may be 
bought anywhere from five cents to a hundred 
and fifty dollars each. They may be had in 
globes, in pendants, or on stands; or in cylin- 
drical, octagonal, or oblong tanks, made of 
glass, glass and iron, glass and brass, or any 
combination that the mind fancies. In size 
they vary from a miniature globe, capable of 
containing only one small fish, to a receptacle 
suitable for holding many dozens. 

There is something very attractive about an 
aquarium, well kept, and large enough to hold 
several fish, water plants and perhaps a tiny 

234 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUARIUMS 235 

fountain. One of the most pleasant and en- 
during memories of an especially handsome 
house, artistically furnished, is of a sitting- 
room bay-window containing a large ornamental 
aquarium of Japanese f ringed-tail goldfish 
and aquatic plants; it was surrounded by 
plants in pots and hanging baskets, and had in 
the aquarium a graceful fountain, the falling 
waters of which were just sufficiently loud to 
be heard in the room. 

An aquarium need not necessarily be de- 
voted to fish alone to be interesting. There 
are numerous forms of aquatic animal life, 
readily found in rural streams, pools or ponds, 
which may be utilised and become a source 
of constant interest. Tadpoles, newts, fresh- 
water shell-fish, water-bugs and beetles, re- 
veal a marvellous story to the observant eye. 
Some of these forms of animal life are impor- 
tant adjuncts to an aquarium when fish are 
to be tenants. Tadpoles and fresh-water snails 
should always be included, since they are 
scavengers and assist materially in keeping the 
aquarium clean and the water pure. 

Certain water plants are also important in 



236 FISH CULTURE 

the successful maintenance of an aquarium. 
Some are of little value except as ornaments, 
but others furnish oxygen in considerable 
quantities, and so render it unnecessary to 
change the water frequently. 

Goldfish are not the only species which may 
be carried in an aquarium. Many other at- 
tractive fishes may be kept in still water where 
there is an abundance of oxygenating plants. 
Indeed, within the last few years many tropical 
fresh-water fishes have been introduced into 
the United States for this purpose; some are 
of remarkable beauty, and all afford constant 
interest. Some of these foreign fishes bring 
forth their young alive, others, after deposit- 
ing eggs in the sandy bottom of the aquarium, 
immediately dig a hole in another part, and 
transfer the eggs in their mouths from the first 
to the second hole and do this twice a day until 
the eggs are hatched. 

If running water can be had the possibili- 
ties of the aquarium are endless, for a ma- 
jority of fishes can be transplanted from the 
wild state, and kept in confinement and healthy 
for an indefinite period. Even brook-trout 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUAEIUMS 237 

will do well under such circumstances, provided 
the water-temperature during July and Au- 
gust does not rise too high. I have seen this 
fish carried successfully through both these 
months without the aid of ice or a refrigerat- 
ing apparatus, by simply increasing the aera- 
tion of the water. Many native fishes common 
to the brooks and waters in the neighbourhood 
of the home make desirable and even pretty 
denizens of an aquarium ; and they are of com- 
paratively easy culture. The yellow perch, the 
sun-fish, the cat-fish, and the stickleback will 
do well in a still-water aquarium. Nearly all 
forms of minnows are as well adapted to the 
aquarium as the goldfish, which, by the way, be- 
longs to the minnow family. 

Choosing or Building an Aquarium. — The 
best and most convenient form of aquarium 
is an oblong tank of glass and metal. An all- 
glass aquarium is not as desirable or as safe. 
The globe shape is not as easily kept clean and 
an all-glass vessel is very apt to crack and 
break owing to the unequal expansion and con- 
traction from varying temperatures of the 
room and the water. 



2SS FISH CULTUBE 

It does not require any great amount of in- 
genuity for a person to make his own aquarium. 
A two-inch board, planed and grooved, four 
upright angle-irons, clinching-bands, angle-iron 
top-frame, a double or treble thickness of glass 
according to the size of the vessel, and a cement 
which can also be homemade; these with a 
little expenditure of time , and care in fitting 
will make a neat, serviceable aquarium, nearly 
as good as any which can be bought. 

Two precautions are to be observed; one that the 
aquarium be water-tight, and the other that there be 
plenty of room for the glass to expand and contract 
under varying temperatures. The grooves in the bot- 
tom board must be wider by the fraction of an inch 
than the thickness of the glass, and the panes must 
be a trifle shorter than the length and width. The 
cement should also be of such a consistency that it 
will always be soft enough to permit the expansion 
and contraction of the glass. Cement for fastening 
the glass to the frame can be bought at almost any 
store selling globes and fish; but an almost equally 
good one can be made of common putty, red lead, 
litharge, and sometimes a very small quantity of plas- 
ter of Paris. Before putting in the glass, the grooves 
and the inside of the angle iron should be thickly set 
with the cement, the glass then embedded, and fast- 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUAEIUMS 239 

ened firmly by the top frame and clinching-bands. 
The cement should then be pressed in firmly and 
smoothed with the putty-knife, and when it is partly 
dried be painted with asphaltum paint. The bottom, 
if of wood, should be given a slight coating of liquid 
cement to prevent warping. 

While a two-inch board may be used for the bottom 
of an aquarium, it is more desirable to have it of 
slate, marble or concrete. The last named is substan- 
tial, much easier to secure and cheaper. To make a 
concrete bottom, fashion a wooden frame of the de- 
sired dimensions, and fill it with concrete, made of 
three parts of sharp sand and one of cement. One- 
half sand and half cement would possibly make a 
harder base, but it would be more liable to crack in 
drying unless re-inforced, than when made with the 
proportions first given. Immediately after placing 
the concrete in the form, large wire nails should be 
pushed in at regular intervals around the edge of 
the base. After the concrete has hardened the nails 
are withdrawn, leaving holes for the bolts which are 
to fasten the framework to the bottom. If the bot- 
tom be of slate or marble, then bolt-holes must be 
drilled in its surface, but it is not necessary to make 
grooves, as the angle-iron frame can be set on the 
surface with a thin layer of cement to prevent leak- 
age. The frame-work is bolted to the bottom. 

If the aquarium is to contain running water, then 
an outflow will be necessary. This may be made by 



240 FISH CULTURE 

drilling a hole in the base near one end, and putting 
in a drain-pipe, which ought to be a little larger than 
necessary to carry off the ordinary overflow, as it 
may be imperative to turn on for a while a much 
heavier stream from the supplying pipe. 

Many persons on purchasing or making an 
aquarium are impatient to put it to use im- 
mediately, but this is a mistake. Wash the 
tank a number of times, and change the water 
frequently for a week or ten days before stock- 
ing it. After being washed and filled the first 
time, heavily impregnate the water with salt, 
and allow the solution to remain for two or 
three days to thoroughly purify the aquarium; 
replace this with fresh water, and change sev- 
eral times in the next two or three days. Not 
until then ought the water intended for the 
fish to be introduced. 

In the meantime, a quantity of river, stream, 
or bird sand may be secured, sufficient to cover 
the bottom of the aquarium to a depth of two 
or three inches. If it is river or stream sand, 
first wash it thoroughly in hot salt water and 
repeat the washing until every particle of 
vegetable matter and clay is removed. Dirty 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUARIUMS 241 

sand breeds disease. When the sand is finally 
ready, and the aquarium drained, put in the 
sand and cover it with an inch of well-washed 
gravel and small pebbles. After the sand and 
gravel have been placed, water-plants may be 
introduced. Do not plant many since they 
grow with such rapidity that the aquarium will 
be overstocked soon, and some of them will have 
to be removed. 

Stocking an Aquarium. — The best water for 
an aquarium is from a river, stream or pond. 
Eain-water which has been exposed for some 
time to the air is also excellent, but the ex- 
posure must be of some length to render it 
safe. If water is taken from a hydrant, it 
should first flow with full force into a bucket, 
so that it may be thoroughly aerated. Under 
no circumstances ought pump-water to be used, 
as it is what is commonly called "dead," that 
is without aeration. There is a prejudice in 
some quarters against hard or limestone water, 
but if taken from a spring or stream I feel 
that there is little or no danger in using it. 

If the aquarium is to contain goldfish, or 
other species that will live in still water, it is 



242 FISH CULTURE 

unnecessary to change the water frequently, 
especially if the tank be well provided with 
suitable aquatic plants. Simply replace that 
which has been lost through evaporation from 
time to time. If care be exercised and the 
aquarium kept clean, a complete change of 
water is only necessary about once in six 
months. It would be well to introduce at first 
a few snails and tadpoles, and then, after two 
or three days, the fish. 

A careful person will wash the inside of the 
glass of a show-aquarium daily, or at least 
thrice a week, to keep the surface free from 
green slime, a vegetable growth (confervae) 
which covers the glass and develops very 
rapidly in a fairly bright light, as when the 
aquarium is set near a window. The growth 
of the useful plants in the tanks and of its ani- 
mal life requires that the aquarium should get 
considerable sunlight, but too much sunlight, 
together with the heat of a room, may raise 
the temperature of the water so high as to in- 
jure the fish because of the rapid loss of oxy- 
gen. Hence sensible care must be taken in this 
respect. Any fish or animal that may die 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUAEIUMS 243 

should be removed at once, since the decom- 
position is likely to foul the water, and injure 
the remaining fishes. 

Water-temperature is an important factor 
for a successful aquarium. The common gold- 
fish, such as are bought anywhere for from live 
to ten cents each, are not very particular about 
it, but some of the choicer varieties, especially 
those of the scaleless type, must have a fairly 
even water-temperature throughout the year, 
and are liable to bladder-troubles when the 
temperature falls below 60 degrees. There- 
fore it is best that water for the aquarium 
which is to contain goldfish be not less than 
60 nor more than 70 degrees. For tropical 
fishes the temperature must be maintained be- 
tween 70 and 80 degrees. The green slime 
that develops on the glass in bright sunlight 
is not harmful to fish, but is an indication that 
the water is perfectly pure. Most goldfish 
culturists keep several tanks with so much 
confervaB in the water that the fish are almost 
invisible, and put into them, as " hospitals' ' 
fish that are a little " under the weather." A 
good supply of snails, especially the Japanese 



244 FISH CULTURE 

and African species, will keep the glass of th# 
aquarium fairly clear of slime. 

Purity of water is naturally of first impor- 
tance. Fortunately it is generally easy to de- 
tect impurity. A disagreeable odor usually 
manifests itself, and almost invariably the water 
becomes slightly cloudy. Fish and snails com- 
ing to the top of the water on cle*ar sunshiny 
days give a strong indication of foul water. 
When it becomes necessary to change the water 
in an aquarium, it is better not to dip it out 
but to draw it out by means of a siphon (rubber 
tube) ; when the tank is half empty, remove the 
fish by means of a small net. The water 
should also be replaced in the same manner so 
as not to displace the sand and gravel at the 
bottom. 

Some people like to place rockwork in an 
aquarium. Where it can be done this is desir- 
able both for the fish and as resting places for 
the tadpoles, and it should project a little above 
the surface of the water. 

Care of Goldfish. — Goldfish, after the man- 
ner of other carp, like to jump once in a while, 
so there must be either a considerable space 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUARIUMS 245 

between the surface of the water and the top 
of the aquarium, or the top of the aquarium 
must be covered with wire netting, otherwise 
the owner will likely find a dead fish on the 
floor some morning. Such precautions are also 
advisable if cats are household pets, since they 
love fish, and are expert fishermen. 

One requisite for the successful care of fish 
in an aquarium is to avoid coddling them too 
much. Never handle them except when ab- 
solutely necessary, and then only with the wet 
hands or with a small net. Above all things 
never overfeed aquarium fish. It is safer to 
give them a fair allowance every other day, 
rather than to supply them with food daily; 
but under no circumstances should they be 
given more than they will eat in a few minutes. 
If there is any food left uneaten at the end of 
five minutes, the fish are, generally speaking, 
given too much. Probably the safest food is 
the manufactured fish-food purchased from a 
dealer; and the granulated foods are more de- 
sirable than the foods that come in sheet form. 
A couple of pinches will be enough for half a 
dozen every day. Tiny fragments of bread 



246 FISH CULTUEE 

may occasionally be given, and, if extreme care 
be exercised, a very small quantity of un- 
cooked oatmeal; but the last named is danger- 
ous, since any which is uneaten will ferment. 
A tablespoonful thrown into an aquarium two 
feet long would probably kill every fish in 
twelve hours. 

One of the best foods for goldfish, and indeed 
for almost any small fish is a minute aquatic 
creature called daphnia. It is related to the 
crab family, and under certain conditions is 
found by the million in still or stagnant pools 
with mud bottoms, and where aquatic plants 
are abundant. The daphnia is of a reddish 
hue, and swims with a short jerky motion. It 
is most abundant during the summer and early 
autumn, but it may be gathered in quantities 
even during the winter. The larvae of daphnia 
develop on subaquatic plants, and the growth 
of that useful plankton may be encouraged by 
spreading cow or sheep manure over the bot- 
tom of the pond. Greater success is likely to 
result from using small fish rather than large. 
A greater number can be carried safely. 

'Aquatic Plants for an r Aquarium. — Aquatic 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUAEIUMS 247 

plants are necessary as an equipment for an 
aquarium, as they are both beautifiers and 
oxygen producers. Without their help it would 
not always be safe to allow the water to re- 
main in an aquarium for an indefinite period 
without changing it. 

Of the plants which grow in sand or gravel 
three stand forth prominently as the most 
valuable. They are the anacharis or water- 
weed, the sagittarias, and the ludwigias. 
These three all give forth a great amount of 
oxygen, and are beautiful and of rapid growth. 
The anacharis in particular is such a vigorous 
grower that often in a few weeks, when the 
sunshine is bright and the water warm, it will 
have to be thinned out. The Anacharis can- 
adensis is the best species, and has dark green, 
ovate leaves, with light stems. 

The sagittaria resembles somewhat the well 
known vallisneria, or giant eel-grass, but it is 
considered as a better oxygenator and does not 
fill up an aquarium as rapidly as the eel-grass. 
'Sagittaria napana is as indispensable for 
oxygenating purposes as the anacharis, to 
which it also forms a very strong contrast in 



248 FISH CULTURE 

appearance. It has long strap-like leaves, 
springing from a nearly common base, almost 
like the leaves of a bulb, and is especially de- 
sirable for a small aquarium. The Ludwigia 
Mulerttii is called a submerged plant, but 
while its greatest growth is beneath the sur- 
face, it does push its head above the water and 
sometimes for several inches. It is exceed- 
ingly valuable for its oxygen-giving qualities, 
and is one of the prettiest of the sub-aquatic 
plants. It has small ovate leaves, having the 
upper part green and the under-side a dark 
rose pink. It is unlike any other aquatic plant 
and grows in thick bunches. 

Eel-grass (Vallisneria spiralis) ought by all 
means to be placed on the list of sub-aquatic 
plants for the aquarium. It has the male and 
female flowers on separate plants; the male 
flowers are borne on straight short stalks, 
while the female blossoms are on a long spiral 
stalk. Both open and mature their flowers on 
or above the surface. 

A favourite aquatic plant with most aquar- 
ists, and one found in nearly every store deal- 
ing with goldfish and aquarium supplies, is the 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUAEIUMS 249 

Washington plant, or Cabomba viridifolia, 
whose stem and leaves are fern-like in their 
gracefulness. The fan-shaped leaves are a 
brilliant glossy green and are slashed clear to 
the stem into thread-like sections. 

The pond-weeds (Potamogeton) and the 
hornwort (Ceratophyllum) are both favourites, 
especially Potamogeton densus, with brownish- 
green leaves attached opposite each other on 
a reddish stalk, but on account of the eager- 
ness with which mollusks and fish attack and 
devour the leaves and stems it soon loses much 
of its beauty. The hornwort is an attractive 
and effective plant, with narrow forked leaves 
set round the stem in whorls. It is one of the 
commonest of our native water-plants, and 
takes to an aquarium as to the manner born. 
It may be tied together in little bunches, 
weighted with a piece of stone or lead and sunk 
to the bottom, where it will flourish just as 
well as though it were regularly planted. 

The duck-weeds are favourites among the 
floating plants. They have minute generally 
rounded leaves which rest flat upon the sur- 
face of the water, and small roots that hang 



250 FISH CULTURE 

vertically therefrom, about an inch below the 
surface. The greater duck-weed (Lemna poly- 
rhiza), the lesser duck-weed (Lemna minor) 
and the thick duck-weed, (Lemna gibba) are 
the most attractive, although they have very 
little value for oxygenating purposes. 

The water-poppy (Limnocharis humboldti) 
is one of the handsomest of the surface water- 
plants for small aquaria, as it possesses small 
heart-shaped leaves, and yellow, poppy-like 
flowers about an inch in diameter. The water- 
crow-foot (Eanunculus aquatilis) is also an 
excellent plant as a contrast to the water- 
poppy, having beautiful green leaves, and 
pretty white flowers with many yellow 
stamens strikingly like strawberry blossoms. 
Many aquatic plants live principally in 
only partially submerged or in wet spots. 
One of the favourites is the forget-me- 
not, or Myosotis palustris; and a good foil to 
the forget-me-not is the umbrella grass (Cy- 
perus alternifolius). As a finishing touch to 
the rock work there may be planted the 
Lycopodium coesium or creeping moss. 



MANAGEMENT OF AQUAEIUMS 251 

Among tender aquatics, that is those not hardy but 
very effective for an aquarium, are to be found the 
following: Aponogeton distachyus, or the Cape Cod 
pond-weed, a winter-flowering plant having pretty 
white blossoms; Limnanthemum indicium, or water 
snow-flake, whose leaves float like those of the water- 
lily and whose flowers are white; Myriophyllum 
proserpinacoides or parrot-feather, a graceful foliage- 
plant; and Pistia stratiodes, or water-lettuce, a float- 
ing plant like the duck-weeds. 

The following are not merely desirable for an 
aquarium kept in the house but have the additional 
advantage of being hardy : Alisma plantago, or water- 
plantain, with pale rose blossoms; 3 uncus variegatus, 
or variegated rush, a very striking plant which grows 
both in and out of the water ; Limnanthemum lacun- 
osum, or floating-heart, a white-flowered plant; Men- 
zanthes trifoliata, a three-lobed, white-blossomed 
aquatic; and Scirpus variegatus or variegated Siber- 
ian rush. 



CHAPTER XIX 
CULTURE AND CARE OF GOLDFISH 

The house aquarium and the goldfish are so 
closely linked in the minds of the great major- 
ity of persons, that it seems fitting that in deal- 
ing with aquarium life first attention be given 
this member of the minnow family. It orig- 
inated with the Chinese in remote antiquity, 
and was introduced into Europe between the 
17th and 18th centuries, and into this country 
early in the 19th century. It has been pro- 
duced from the Crucian carp, an Asiatic fish 
of the family, after centuries of careful selec- 
tion and breeding, and is therefore one of the 
minnows. 

The original colour of the Crucian carp is 
olive-brown, and when the young are hatched, 
and for some weeks after, they possess this hue 
of their primal ancestors. The goldfish also 
affords a striking example in another way of 

252 



CARE OF GOLDFISH 253 

the instability of varieties developed from nat- 
ural forms, although bred and selected with 
the greatest care for centuries ; for if goldfish 
are left to themselves, as in an open pond, they 
will degenerate more or less rapidly and grad- 
ually revert to the original form and coloura- 
tion of the Crucian carp. Moreover, a large 
proportion of fish hatched never do change 
from their sombre dress and take on the 
brilliant colour so much desired. 

Many of the grotesque forms which mark some of 
the popular types of goldfish are the outcome of cen- 
turies of laborious work by the patient, persevering 
and ingenious Japanese, in taking advantage of some 
curious freak of nature. 

It is a well known fact that if fish-eggs be given 
a jarring at a certain stage, or, more specifically, 
about the "eyeing" period, monstrosities may be pro- 
duced. This occurs frequently among brook-trout, 
the most common irregularities being hump-back and 
looped. It is said that when the Japanese discovered 
this peculiarity they selected a pair of the most pro- 
nounced monstrosities, similar in form, reared them 
and bred from them. The most marked of the prog- 
eny were again selected and bred, and this process 
continued until a desired type was produced and 
fairly fixed by hatching without the jarring. Thus 



254 FISH CULTURE 

were produced the fringe-tails, the balloon shape, the 
telescope, and some other of the outlandish forms 
seen in aquariums. 

Fanciers have one or all three points in view 
when breeding so called fancy goldfish: The 
development of rounded form; the develop- 
ment of the fins ; and the development of colour 
and markings. In the endeavour to attain 
these features, they have crossed and re- 
crossed until there are now but two distinct 
classes, those with elongated and those with 
rounded bodies ; and it has become exceedingly 
difficult to subdivide one of these classes into 
clearly defined types. Nearly every variety 
has one or more pronounced features of an- 
other. It is among the multiple-tailed forms, 
however, that the greatest amount of selective 
breeding has been done. Colour-effects have 
been specially sought for, with calicos, blues, 
Moors, bronzes, whites, reds-and-whites, and 
other combinations as results. There need be 
no surprise, if, within a few years, a pale green 
fish be added to the list. 

Varieties. — The following is a nearly com- 
plete list of the different varieties of goldfishes 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 255 

known to Americans and to be purchased of all 
dealers carrying a varied stock. 

Commons: There are two varieties of the common 
goldfish, the American and the European. Both have 
elongated bodies, but the European is more slender, 
with flatter sides and a very deep fork in the tail-fin. 
The American variety has a decided arch in the front 
dorsal line, while the European has a back but little 
arched. The colour varies from deep orange yellow to 
white and from black to light bronze. Commons of 
particular colours, crossed with Japanese, have res- 
suited in many peculiarly hued fishes. 

Comet: This is considered by many as one of the 
most graceful of the goldfishes, although not a favour- 
ite among fanciers, who regard rounded, egg-shaped 
bodies as the perfection of beauty. It is of American 
origin, having been produced by Hugh Mullertt, of 
New York, in 1889. It has a long slender body and a 
single tail, somewhat longer than the body, which 
usually droops gracefully in fully matured specimens, 
but in the younger it is held straight from the body. 
The dorsal, ventral, pectoral and anal fins are all of 
great length, the dorsal being nearly two-thirds the 
length of the fish. 

Nymph: A nymph is similar to a comet, excepting 
that its body is short and rounded more in conformity 
with the general idea of beauty in goldfishes. The 
color is a rich, dark, reddish gold. 



256 FISH CULTURE 

Fan-tail: Herman T. "Wolf, in his admirable work 
on goldfish breeds, has given such a clear description 
of the fan-tail, that I feel I can do no better than to 
reproduce it. He says: "The fan-tail is a scaled, 
short-bodied fish, very thick, round-backed and deep 
bellied, of almost oval outline; its body being best 
described as of short pumpkin-seed form, with the 
horizontal longer diameter of slightly greater length 
than a true oval. ... It has a short, broad head, dis- 
tinctly hog-nosed, a large mouth with full lips, erect 
nostrils, and eyes like the ordinary goldfish but larger. 
The long and erect dorsal fin sits far back on the spine, 
all the other fins being paired ; the pectorals and ven- 
trals are long and pendant, the double anal fins are 
long and extend almost straight backward, while the 
broad double tail, which is the principal characteristic 
of the fish, is divided quite to the base, and the two 
distinct tails stand directly vertical on the same plane 
and are carried straight out behind the body without 
the least drop or droop; the upper and lower lobes 
being of exactly the same length so that a perpendicu- 
lar line from the end of the upper will exactly touch 
the lower lobe on each side. . . . The perfectly de- 
veloped fan-tail (when viewed from the rear) has the 
appearance of having two separate single tails placed 
side by side. The tail of the fan-tail never exceeds 
the body in length." A fan-tailed goldfish of full 
blood is of a rich golden red, with rather large scales 
which shine like burnished metal. At one time the 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 257 

fan-tail was among the commonest of the fine breeds, 
but the variety has been crossed and recrossed to such 
an extent that a pure fan-tail is now comparatively 
scarce. 

Fringe-tail: A fringe-tail is one of the most gor- 
geous of aquarium fishes. It is perfection in beauty, 
grace and richness of colour. Mr. "Wolf says of it: 
"The long lace-like tail and fins, the rich, burnished, 
metallic lustre, the marvellous brilliancy of colour, the 
finely modelled form and the perfection of graceful 
movement, are truly typified in this justly prized fish." 
A perfect fringe-tail has a short and almost truly 
oval body, with a short head. The caudal fin, which 
is double and at least two and one-half times longer 
than the body, droops in graceful diaphanous folds. 
The ventrals, pectorals, and double anal, are all very 
long and pendant. The dorsal, the crowning glory 
of a fringe-tail, is arched high in front and curves 
evenly downward towards the caudal. The scales are 
small and of a rich, red, shining, gold colour. From 
fringe-tails were developed ribbon-tails and veil- 
tails. 

Ribbon-tail: The chief difference between a rib- 
bon-tail and a fringe-tail is that the caudals are each 
divided for nearly or quite the whole length into rib- 
bon-like parts. 

Veil-tail: A veil-tail is extremely difficult to dis- 
tinguish from a fringe-tail. The caudal is more 
voluminous, and is decidedly more diaphanous and 



258 FISH CULTURE 

veil-like, so that when the fish is moving through the 
water the tails wave and swings 

Squaretail: A squaretail is almost identical with a 
fringe-tail, but the lower edges of the tails have no 
indentations. 

Tripod: A tripod has a so-called third tail-fin: the 
two lower parts project like the sloping roof of a house 
and the upper is like a ridge above it. 

Scaleless goldfishes are found in all varieties, 
but the most conspicuous of the scaleless 
sort are pinkish or white, and they are much 
more tender than the scaled fishes. They are 
more liable to disease, particularly bladder 
trouble, but are favourites among fish-fanciers. 
A scaleless goldfish possesses scales, but they 
are covered by a skin. Among them are the 
following : 

Telescope: This variety is so-called because its eyes 
protrude far beyond the sides of its head. In some 
the eyes are shaped like spheres, in others are ovoid, 
or like truncated cones, or segmented spheres, or the 
eyes may protrude upwards. The telescope originated 
in China, but was developed to its highest point in 
Japan, and fanciers have produced them in nearly 
every variety, so that there will be found telescope 
fringe-tails, fan-tails, and so forth. 



CARE OF GOLDFISH 259 

Celestial: If there were oculists among goldfishes, 
the celestials would probably be among the first and 
most profitable patients, for this variety is afflicted 
with defective eyesight. It is a telescope having 
spheroid eyes, but instead of their facing from the 
sides of the head as in other fishes, they are upturned 
towards heaven, whence the name ' ' celestial, ' ' a name 
further appropriate from the fact that it originated 
among the Chinese. They are pretty eyes neverthe- 
less, for the small, dark pupils are surrounded by 
large clear yellow irises. The celestial has another 
unusual characteristic, namely, that it is without a 
dorsal fin. This gives the back a queer barrel-like 
appearance. Added to these oddities are two more — 
a disposition to swim near the surface with its pop- 
eyes out of the water, and an apparent stupidity. 
There is little or no activity about the fish, any one 
can take it in the hand without a struggle, and it may 
be guided anywhere in an aquarium by gently pressing 
a stick against its sides. The head is very short and 
with only the suspicion of a snout. The body is egg- 
shaped, tapering towards the tail. The colour is a pale 
reddish gold. The pectorals, ventrals and anal are 
all pendant, but short. The caudal resembles that of 
a young fringe-tail. It is said that in China, the 
celestial is regarded as a sacred fish and kept in many 
of the oriental temples. It is a very difficult fish to 
keep, and is therefore not found frequently among 
either breeders or in private aquaria. 



260 FISH CULTURE 

Lion-Head: The lion-head or hooded goldfish is as 
yet an exceedingly rare fish in the United States, al- 
though well-known among the Japanese. Its origin 
is disputed, some crediting it to Japan and some to 
Korea. Whichever its native place, the lion-head is 
certainly a very grotesque fish. It is nearly globular 
in form, red in colour and without a dorsal. It has a 
long double caudal, very similar to a fringe-tail, but 
with rather short pendant pectorals, ventrals and anal. 
When the fish is two years old, the short head becomes 
covered by a hood-like excrescence of crimson, due to 
the growth of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of small 
rounded tubercles, evenly covering the whole head and 
throat. As age increases the tubercles develop until 
they become long and hair-like, slightly resembling, 
excepting in their crimson colour, the mane of a lion. 
Viewed from the front, the face of the fish, when the 
hood is full grown, is not unlike that of the king of 
beasts. In younger specimens, while the tubercles are 
yet short, the growth has the appearance of an old 
woman's hood, or the be-whiskered face of the con- 
ventional hobo of the cartoonists. 

Calico: Many consider the calico goldfish among 
the most beautiful of all the different types, excepting 
perhaps, the veil-tails. It is a square-tailed telescope; 
usually scaleless, with the head, body, tail and fins 
thickly mottled with blue, brown, yellow, and red and 
black. Like most of the choice types, the body of the 
calico is short and thick; the pectorals, ventrals and 



CARE OF GOLDFISH 261 

anals long and pendant. The dorsal is high and starts 
on the top of the arch of the body, which is midway of 
the head and tail. The tail, which extends from the 
vent to the caudal fin, is merely a stump. 

Blue Telescope: Much attention has been given in 
recent years to the development of this beautiful fish. 
The back and upper sides are a velvety ultramarine 
blue, shading into a metallic reddish blue on the lower 
sides. The abdomen is white or greyish white. The 
double caudal and dorsal fins are dark bluish brown 
or black, and the other fins dusky grey or brown. It 
has a short, plump body. It usually requires a strong 
light to distinguish the blue from the black telescope. 

Black Telescope: Less than ten years ago the black 
telescope, or moor, was a rare fish in this country. 
It was an importation from China, and came immedi- 
ately into deserved popularity, on account of its bril- 
liant black colour, beautiful form and graceful move- 
ments. But many persons have been disappointed in 
their specimens because after a time they lost their in- 
tense black colour and took on a reddish hue. This 
change is usually due to the infusion of another strain 
by accidental or intentional crossing. The whole body 
of a pure and mature black telescope, and the head, 
fins and eyes are a deep blue black of an even shade, 
as rich as the finest black velvet. 

Pleasure and Profit, — Goldfish can be made 
the source of considerable profit and much in- 



262 FISH CULTUEE 

terest. The business may be conducted suc- 
cessfully with fair profit in the house in which 
one dwells, or on a much larger scale in a 
greenhouse, and in open-air ponds. Between 
5,000 and 10,000 salable goldfish may be reared 
in one room of a dwelling-house if the light and 
heat conditions are suitable. There are two 
thousand or more persons, in the city of Phila- 
delphia alone, who raise goldfish for profit in 
their homes during their leisure hours. One 
of them informed me that he annually cleared 
from $200 to $300 from the stock he raises in 
his sitting-room. Another said that his net re- 
ceipts were between $300 and $500 each year. 
Several men now devote their entire time to the 
work as a successful commercial enterprise. 
One devotes his sitting-room, cellar, roof and 
back yard, to it, and it is said that his yearly 
profits exceed $3,000. 

Aside from a desire to make money, the 
owners of aquaria will find their pleasure 
greatly increased if they rear young from their 
goldfish. By exercising ordinary care and by 
the observation of a few simple rules, a person 
may increase his stock by the use of two aquaria 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 263 

and one or two small vessels as for example, 
a small wash-tub. 

Spawning Habits. — Goldfish begin spawning 
usually early in the spring. If there be main- 
tained from the beginning of cold weather a 
water-temperature of 70 or 75 degrees, gold- 
fish will begin to spawn early in February and 
sometimes the latter part of January. If the 
water-temperature be held at 60 degrees or 
thereabouts, throughout the winter, no eggs 
will be deposited before April or May, or, until 
a suitable warmth is imparted to the water. 
Where an aquarium is not exposed to the sun- 
light for several hours every day, I have known 
goldfish to go throughout the season without 
spawning. Peculiarities in the fish themselves 
also cause great variations in the time, espe- 
cially when there is a considerable number of 
fish. In such cases some females will begin to 
spawn in February or before, while others will 
be far later, even on into August. Early 
spawning is greatly to be desired for several 
reasons. The early hatch will all develop their 
colour by early summer; the stock by autumn 
will grow almost if not quite equal in size to 



264 FISH CULTUEE 

yearlings hatched in June or July ; all the weak 
will have been weeded out by sorting or death ; 
and the perfect specimens can be determined 
and separated from the others, to be kept for 
breeding purposes or big prices while the 
others go to market. 

The approach of spawning-time is heralded 
by males chasing the females about the aqua- 
rium. It is then advisable to remove from the 
tank those which show signs of breeding, and 
place them in a receptacle by themselves. A 
breeding-tank should be arranged the same as 
a regular aquarium except that there must be 
many more plants, so many more that the fish 
will almost have to push themselves between 
the stalks. Breeders do not all follow the same 
practice with respect to the proportion of males 
and females which they place in the breeding- 
tank, but the majority introduce more males 
than females. This is done for a variety of 
reasons, two of which are to ascertain which 
is the best " chaser' ' or " driver,' ' and to incite 
the males to rivalry and a little quicker action. 
Some breeders place the breeding fish in the 
tank in the proportion of one female to two 



CARE OF GOLDFISH 265 

males, others two females to three males, and 
others again in the proportion of three females 
to five males. I feel that one female to two 
males is the most satisfactory practice. 

Fanciers select the breeders with great care, 
and with a well defined object in view. It is 
the male which is most likely to stamp its char- 
acteristics on the yonng, hence particular at- 
tention is given to his selection. It sometimes 
happens that when a choice female is ready for 
spawning, the desired male either is not quite 
ready, or if ready, is a sluggish driver. In 
that case it is advantageous to place the two in 
a tank and with them an inferior grade of male 
but one that is an active " chaser.' ' The 
ardent driving of the inferior fish often ex- 
cites the more desirable male to quicker action. 
When this is done, however, a very sharp watch 
must be kept on the three fish, and the unde- 
sirable male removed before actual spawning 
takes place ; otherwise the hatch of young may 
be disappointing. About spawning time, males 
may easily be distinguished both by the " chas- 
ing' ' and by a number of whitish spots which 
appear on the gill-covers, but at other times 



266 FISH CULTUEE 

of the year sex-distinction is sometimes diffi- 
cult. As is the case with many other species 
of fish, the favourite hours for spawning are 
those of darkness, usually those which just pre- 
cede dawn. With the advancing season, how- 
ever, daylight spawning becomes more fre- 
quent. Only a few eggs are deposited at one 
time, and it sometimes requires several weeks 
for the female to discharge them all. 

Treatment of Eggs. — Goldfishes' eggs are 
very small, very light and very adhesive. They 
are so light that if free in the water, it requires 
nearly half an hour before they will sink many 
inches, and they will not hatch if they get very 
many inches below the surface. With grasses 
planted thickly in the breeding-tank, however, 
the eggs cannot fall very far without touching 
roots, leaves or stems, and the slightest touch 
is sufficient to fasten them firmly. These eggs 
are plainly visible, because they are pearly 
white. 

When spawning begins the fancier should at 
least once a day remove from the tank all 
plants that may have eggs attached to them, 
because if the eggs are allowed to remain the 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 267 

mature fish will soon begin to eat them. These 
egg-bearing plants should be placed in pans 
filled with water of precisely the same tempera- 
ture as that of the tank from which they are 
taken. Set the pan containing the eggs in a 
window where sunlight can fall upon it and 
leave it there until after the eggs hatch. 

Eggs of the common goldfish may be as easily 
pressed from the female as from the trout, but are 
troublesome to hatch. This cannot be done by the jar 
method on account of their excessive buoyancy. The 
only known success was achieved by J. R. Berkhous, 
who placed the eggs on a wet flannel tray and sub- 
merged them in only four inches of water, admitted 
in only a slight dribble. Nearly every egg hatched. 

Arrangements for Commercial Propagation. 
— A person who desires to go into the cultiva- 
tion of goldfish on a large scale should have 
commodious quarters, perfectly adapted to the 
needs of the fish, such as glass houses and 
outside ponds. A glass house is only another 
name for a greenhouse such as a florist uses 
for forcing plants, and it should be heated with 
hot water, well ventilated and furnished with 
concrete tanks. A house 20 feet wide permits 



268 FISH CULTURE 

the construction of three rows of concrete tanks 
and two walks; two and a half feet will be a 
sufficient depth for the tanks, with three feet 
inside measurement for the width, and four 
inches will be a sufficient thickness for the con- 
crete walls. Each tank, which will extend the 
length of the house, can be divided into sec- 
tions of varying lengths, from six to twelve or 
more feet. Both for adornment and utility it 
would be advisable to have soil on each side of 
the tanks in which to grow plants that like 
moist places. An ample discharge-pipe should 
be set in each section, so that water can be 
drawn off quickly if desired, and so that con- 
stant running water can be had in any one sec- 
tion at a time. A one-inch inflow pipe will 
furnish plenty of water. 

Outside ponds are important, even where a 
glass house is used. The commons will live 
well outside throughout the year, and so will 
some of the choice Japanese and Chinese 
types, notably those with scales. Ponds are 
useful also to hold some of the fish hatched in- 
side very early in the season, transferring 
them about May, or when the water-tempera- 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 269 

tare is suitable, that is to say between 65 and 
70 degrees. Large ponds are not needed. 
Eight or ten, thirty or forty feet long each, and 
about half that wide, will be found much more 
convenient and serve the purpose of the plant 
better than two with the same area in the aggre- 
gate. A pond or two 100 by 50 feet, would be 
suitable for commons, and would hold enough 
young fish to supply a large town. 

No pond ought to be built in any shaded spot 
nor exceed a water-depth of 18 inches. Im- 
portant features in goldfish culture for profit 
are rapidity of growth and transition of the 
greatest number of the young from olive to 
gold in the shortest space of time. Therefore 
the ponds ought to be in the open where the 
light is strong, and be shallow so that the tem- 
perature from the surface to the bottom can 
be raised quickly and be fairly even through- 
out. 

To secure otherwise a proper temperature, 
the flow of a spring should not be used, or at 
least not until the temperature has been raised. 
Water from a creek, or some source from which 
coldness has departed, is best; and a contin- 



270 FISH CULTURE 

uous inflow and outflow for either brood-fish 
ponds or fry-ponds is not imperative if they 
contain plants. 

Feeding. — The feeding of adult fish is not as 
difficult as might be imagined. Of course the 
very best food is daphnia, which can generally 
be secured in still-water ponds in which there 
are no fish. I believe there would be compara- 
tively little difficulty in raising daphnia, by coat- 
ing the bottom of the pond with soil bountifully 
mixed with cow or sheep manure. Dry crumbled 
bread makes an excellent fish-food, and it is 
not a difficult matter to secure recipes for pre- 
pared foods. The following is said to be ex- 
cellent: One handful of earth worms; half a 
pound of salt cod-fish boiled; one ounce fresh 
ant-eggs ; one ounce of fibre meat ; two eggs un- 
cooked, including the shells ; one pound of corn 
meal, very fine; a quarter of a pound of rice 
flour, very fine ; one package of gem of wheat ; 
a quarter of a pound of yellow pea flour ; quar- 
ter-ounce of table salt ; quarter-ounce of epsom 
salts; one cup of ox blood and one pint of 
daphnia. Chop the worms very fine ; crush the 
shells of the eggs to powder; mix the various 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 271 

ingredients and dry them in an oven, stirring 
constantly so that the mixture will not burn 
until it is granulated. The smell during the 
process of baking is unpleasant. When 
thoroughly dry it can be broken up into fine 
particles. 

Care of Sick Goldfish. — A few years ago, the 
only remedy known to the average goldfish 
breeder in America was salt. To-day, every 
up-to-date fancier possesses an outfit of drugs, 
important among which are crushed rock-salt, 
epsom salts, castor oil, permanganate of potas- 
sium, peroxide of hydrogen, boracic acid, car- 
bolic acid, salicylic acid, coal oil, turpentine, 
copperas, and balsams. Some of these drugs 
are merely used as antiseptics and fungicides, 
and some, notably carbolic acid, are extremely 
dangerous to use. Probably the most effec- 
tive and best fungicide is permanganate of 
potassium. A small quantity of a strong solu- 
tion of its crystals may be poured into the tank 
containing the fish ; but the amount should only 
be sufficient to colour the water a pale cerise. 
If the tank is still-water, it should be siphoned 
of! after fifteen minutes. If fungus or bacteria 



272 FISH CULTUEE 

infest the tank, remove the fish and put in a 
strong solution of permanganate of potassium 
and leave it there for a day. The water may- 
then be drawn off and the tank washed out and 
the fish given a bath in the washings. Fish 
will stand permanganate of potassium much 
better than is generally supposed. I had a 
very convincing proof of this recently. More 
than a handful of crystals of permanganate of 
potassium got scattered by accident in a tank 
containing 120 gallons of running water and 
twenty-four long-eared sun-fish. This hap- 
pened in the evening. The next morning, al- 
though there had been a constant flow all night, 
the water in the tank was bright red-purple. 
Three fish were dead, and the remainder 
showed very slight signs of life. All with any 
life in them were placed in fresh running water 
into which much air was forced. Twenty-four 
hours later all except four had recovered, ap- 
parently none the worse for the terrible experi- 
ence. 

Signs of Illness. — In the majority of eases 
where the water-temperature is right and the 
water itself pure, if fish die suddenly it is the 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 273 

fault of the person supposed to care for the 
aquarium. It is not uncommon to receive a 
plaint something like this: "I cannot under- 
stand it. I have no luck with goldfish. I give 
them the best of care and feed them every day, 
yet they die." In this speech is to be found 
the crux of the whole trouble. Goldfish are 
liable to become diseased if too solicitously 
cared for. Persons inclined to neglect goldfish, 
and leave them to themselves, are more likely 
to achieve success in preserving them alive than 
he who coddles and pets them. Over-feeding, 
frequent handling, and even much changing of 
water, are very apt to produce disease and 
death. 

A perfectly healthy goldfish always holds its 
dorsal fins extended, and all the other fins are 
flexible, work freely and possess a clean, trans- 
lucent appearance, plainly showing their struc- 
ture. The gill-covers are closely shut conceal- 
ing the gills, and the body has a bright polished 
appearance, with the colours clear and distinct. 
People sometimes think that when goldfish seek 
the surface, remaining in a slightly inclined 
position and working their mouths partly in 



274 FISH CULTURE 

and partly out of the water, they are sick, and 
that the water needs changing; but this is not 
necessarily the case. Healthy fish often come 
to the surface on a cloudy, dull day, and are 
simply seeking minute food, vegetable or ani- 
mal, which may be on the surface. Neither is 
a sluggish movement a positive or certain sign 
that they are ill, nor is activity always a sign 
of health. When the dorsal fin droops, and 
other fins become opaque, or seem to be coated 
or inflamed, or closed, or held close to the body, 
or when the colour of the sides fades, and the 
gill-covers expand above swollen gills, then the 
fish is sick and needs treatment. If the disease 
is an incurable one, kill the fish at once. 

At the first signs of distress they should 
promptly be given a salt bath. Under no cir- 
cumstances use table salt, as the process used 
in its preparation for the market is unhealthy 
for fish life. The best is crushed rock-salt, 
which can be obtained from any grocery store, 
and is the same as that used when making ice- 
cream. 

The Hospital Tank. — Sometimes other meth- 
ods are necessary. In that case the sick fish 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 275 

should be removed to a " hospital tank" for 
isolation and special care. It should be of such 
a form as to have a glass surface in all direc- 
tions, so as to admit all the light possible. To 
prepare a hospital tank, first sterilise it by the 
use of salt water and then by permanganate of 
potassium. Put two inches of sand, or a little 
more, in the bottom and plant anacharis and 
one or two other aquatic grasses. Fill the tank 
with perfectly clean unfiltered water, and set 
it in a bright warm sunny spot. If at the end 
of a few days the water remains clear and 
sweet smelling, no further attention need be 
paid to it. Green algae will presently begin to 
form on the glass and in the water, but do not 
disturb it, for the growth is a certification of 
water-purity, and its presence makes the hospi- 
tal tank ready for service. The temperature 
of the water ought never to be below 70 degrees 
nor above 80 degrees. Fish placed in a hos- 
pital tank should be deprived of food, if pos- 
sible for the entire period of confinement. Fa- 
mine for a month is not too much in some 
cases. The sunlight must play on the tank for 
as much of the day as possible, and the green 



276 FISH CULTUEE 

algaB be allowed to accumulate without hin- 
drance. 

Diseases and Remedies. — For ordinary indis- 
positions the salt bath may first be tried. One 
way is to make a solution so strong that it is bit- 
ter to the taste, and leave the fish in it until 
it turns on its side. Then transfer it quickly 
to a pan or bucket containing fresh water. The 
fish will soon revive and perhaps exhibit some 
signs of animation, on the disappearance of 
which replace it in the salt water. Eepeat the 
operation a number of times, after which it may 
be placed in the hospital tank for a day or so, 
or returned to the aquarium. This treatment 
is but for fungus. The temperature of the salt 
water must not be lower than the fresh to which 
it has been accustomed. Another course is to 
make a salt-solution so mild as to be scarcely 
detected by the taste, and put the fish in it for 
several days. The vessel containing the mild 
salt-solution should be set in a well ventilated, 
light and warm place, and the patient should be 
given no food, and, after feeding is resumed, 
but very small quantities. Salt is generally ef- 
ficacious with asphyxia and the itch. Asphyxia 



CAEE OP GOLDFISH 277 

is due to inflamed gills, caused by poisonous 
gases or sudden changes of temperature in the 
water. Itch is common during the winter 
months, seldom in summer, and is supposed to 
be the result of microscopic parasites ; a whitish 
substance, first noticed on the back near the 
head, rapidly coats the fish until the affected 
parts lose their brilliant colour and become dark 
or black. An infected fish will rub itself against 
the pebbles or sand on the bottom, or any ob- 
ject which may be in the water. Over-feeding 
is almost always the cause of this trouble, al- 
though occasionally it appears when the water 
is unduly cold. 

Fungus is another common affliction, generally 
caused by the fish becoming bruised or handled 
roughly or with dry hands. It is a parasitic 
vegetable growth resembling a cobwebby mil- 
dew. When a fish is attacked care must be ex- 
ercised not to remove it by rubbing, either out 
of the water or in fresh water, as this pro- 
cedure will take along with it the scales and skin, 
leaving the flesh exposed. Generally fungus 
is easily removable by placing the fish in a 
strong solution of salt water and then carefully 



278 FISH CULTUEE 

sponging the body while submerged. If the 
case be severe, it would not be amiss to give 
the fish a wash-off with dioxogen, or even a 
short bath in a very mild solution of perman- 
ganate of potassium, after the salt bath and 
sponging. 

Among the fatal diseases are tuberculosis, 
dropsy, bladder disease and erysipelas. The 
fancier may well lose heart if the last named 
appears, for it is reasonably sure that not one 
but all the fish in the aquarium will be seized 
with it about the same time. After stating that 
it is indicated by what appears to be a nervous 
restlessness of the fish, Mr. Mullertt graphically 
describes diseased fish thus : 

1 ' They are seen swimming with very quick motions, 
darting hither and thither with great rapidity, and 
with no other apparent reason than a desire to flee 
from their torment, for it seems as though they must 
suffer from muscular pains. After this extreme ac- 
tivity, which covers a period of several days, the fishes 
(for they are all affected at the same time) huddle to- 
gether at the bottom of the tank, now and then rising 
and resuming their mad capers. The external ap- 
pearance in this case is characterised by a closed dor- 
sal fin, bloody streaks on all the fins, which, instead 



CAEE OF GOLDFISH 279 

of being nicely rounded upon their extremities as in 
health, become agglutinated and appear like the 
spikes on a cat-fish. The tissues upon the spines decay, 
the latter looking like disarranged bristles of a brush. 
This is the beginning of the end. The appetite con- 
tinues in good condition, the fish nevertheless becomes 
weaker and weaker, each succeeding day, until death 
takes place.' ' 

Bladder disease is most common among the 
scaleless goldfishes and is almost invariably 
caused by the water being too cold. When a 
fish contracts bladder trouble it is unable to 
maintain a normal position in the water, and 
almost without exception falls into a vertical 
position with the head downward. In this 
manner it moves sluggishly and awkwardly 
about, often resting on the bottom. Sometimes 
a fish will live nearly two years with the com- 
plaint before dying. It is doubtful whether it 
is curable. 

No cure for tuberculosis is yet known. It 
should, however, be a preventable disease, for 
it is usually caused by mismanagement in an 
aquarium, especially as to impure water. 
When the disease is contracted, again using the 



280 FISH CULTURE 

words of Mr. Mullertt: "They [the fish] are 
seen swimming about in a careless, purposeless 
way, now and then stopping to make a vain at- 
tempt to remove something from their gills that 
annoys them. They are apparently coughing. 
Their appetite decreases. It is evident that the 
gills are out of order, they failing to take up 
oxygen for the blood. ' ' The fish loses flesh, the 
abdomen sinks, the head seems proportionately 
large, and in shape the fish becomes what fish- 
culturists term a "spike tail." The gills show 
signs of decay, the fish becomes so weak it can- 
not properly balance itself and finally swims 
head downward and dies. 

Dropsy is not a preventable disease and is 
liable to appear in the best conducted aquariums 
and ponds. It is characterised by a swelling 
of the body, which begins either near the tail 
or the middle and progresses toward the head. 
Its first appearance is signalised by a few scales 
included in a circle, which lose their firm at- 
tachment. Later when it becomes general the 
body swells until it is almost spherical, the 
scales become erect and the eyes protrude. 
Death will follow in at least four months. 



CARE OF GOLDFISH 281 

Goldfish are also liable to tumour of the in- 
testine, to several gill-troubles and other ail- 
ments, one of the worst of which is the infec- 
tious tail-disease. "When a fish is infected by 
tail-disease or tail-rot, it must be taken from 
the tank at once and put by itself, and it should 
not be put in the regular hospital tank, but in 
a separate vessel, so that its disease germs will 
not infect other fish. First, however, dip the 
diseased tail in coal oil or turpentine, and then 
in phenol sodique. This should be done at least 
once daily. This treatment ought in a few days 
destroy the germs which rotted the tail. Then 
with a pair of scissors cut away the parts which 
were affected, being careful not to cut into the 
healthy parts, as this would injure the fish 
and perhaps cause an attack of fungus or a 
renewal of the tail-rot. Later, when the fish 
recovers, the tail will again grow. 

If the goldfish be wounded, it should be given 
a light salt bath and the wound touched with 
some lotion like Turlington's Balsam, a sub- 
stance something like artificial skin. A solu- 
tion of five drops of carbolic acid in a gallon 
of water is often efficacious for wounds in fishes, 



282 FISH CULTUEE 

but it is very dangerous to use this remedy. 
Under no circumstances should the fish be left 
alone a minute when in a solution of carbolic 
acid and water. The instant it begins to turn 
over, the fish must be removed and put into 
fresh water or death will follow immediately. 
The narrative of diseases may seem very dis- 
couraging; but no matter in what live-stock 
business a man is engaged the spectre of disease 
must be reckoned with. A goldfish-culturist is 
confronted with less trouble than the man who 
rears poultry, and has a happy time compared 
with the raiser of bees. Skill, which comes with 
time, love for the calling, perseverance and 
good stock, will yield gratifying returns both in 
enjoyment and money. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



ASration of water, 107 
Animals, injurious, in ponds, 

13, 100 
Aquarium, construction and 

management of, 234-244 ; 

stocking an, 241 
Artificial nests, 35-43 
Automatic feeders, 161, 189 

Barrenness in fish, 35 
Bass, black, culture of, 3-48 
Bass, calico, culture of, 50, 57 
Bass, grass or calico, 50, 57 
Bass, rock, culture of, 51, 57 
Bass, striped, culture of, 207, 

210 
Batteries of hatching-jars, 

181 
Bluegill (see Sunfish) 
Bullhead, culture of, 60 

Calico-bass, 50, 57 
Cannibalism, 41, 50, 57, 202, 

205 
Care of ponds, 17 
Carp, culture of, 70-84; kinds 

of, 79 ; value of, 73 
Cat-fish, culture of, 59-69 
Cat-fish, spotted, 59 
Cat-fish, white, 61 



Cat-fish, yellow, 61 
Chara moss, 46 
Cleaning ponds, 168 
Cribs for black bass, 43 

Dams, construction of, 9 

Daphnia, 84, 231, 246; rear- 
ing of, 270 

Deformities in fish, 253 

Diseases of goldfish, 271, 276; 
of trout, 153, 155, 198 

Domestication of pond fish, 33, 
165 

Eggs of fish, characteristics of, 
109; hatching in jars, 185; 
of perch, 193, 209; separa- 
tion of bad eggs, 109, 142; 
treatment of trout, 136, 138, 
141, 151 

Embryo, growth of the, 145 

Eyeing of eggs, 148 

False eggs, 142 

Feathering of eggs, 150 

Feeding of black bass, 19, 34, 
45; of cat-fish, 65; of gold- 
fish, 270; of trout, 108, 161, 
170 

Feeding of aquarium fish, 245, 
270 



285 



286 



INDEX 



Fertilisation of eggs, artifi- 
cial, 131 

Fingerlings, care of, 160, 163; 
defined, 160 

Floating-box, construction of, 
194 

Floor of ponds, treatment of, 
6, 11, 100 

Frogs, culture of, 215-233 

Fry, care of, 38, 46, 56, 84, 
147, 165, 197; emergence 
of, 146; habits of, 12, 39, 
55, 64, 151 

Fungus, 143, 153, 277 

Grass, or calico, bass (see 
(Bass) 

Goldfish, 244, 252-282; rear- 
ing for profit, 262, 267; 
varieties of, 255 

Handling ripe trout, 128 

Hatchery for trout, equip- 
ment of, 105, 111 

Hatching-boxes, how made, 
121 

Hospital tank, 275 

Insects injurious to fish, 17, 

231 
Introduction of stock to 

ponds, 17, 29 

Jars, hatching fish in, 178, 
214 

Large-mouthed bass, 47 



Lightning killing fish, 102 
Liver-paste, how prepared, 
164 

Kettle of pond, 10 

Mating of black bass, 27, 30, 

34; of trout, 126. 
Meat, prepared as food, 164, 

167 
Milk, prepared as food, 164 
Milt and spermatozoa, 131, 

134 
Minnows as food, 22 
Muscallonge, American species 

of, 203; culture of, 203 

Nests of black bass, 24, 32, 35 ; 

of bullhead, 63; of sun-fish, 

53 
Nest-boxes for black bass, 43 

Outlets of ponds, 13 

Perch, white, culture of, 208 
Perch, yellow, culture of, 188 
Pickerel, chain, culture of, 200 
Pike, characteristics of, 202 
Plants for an aquarium, 246; 

for fish-ponds, 14, 46, 226 
Ponds for black bass, 9, 47; 
for carp, 72, 75; for cat- 
fish, 61, 66; for frogs, 224; 
for goldfish, 268; for trout, 
93 

Raceways, advantage of, 104, 
127 



INDEX 



287 



Ringer eggs, 141 

Rock-bass, culture of, 51, 57 

Salmon, culture of, 174 
Salt baths, 156, 276 
Shade, need of, 97 
Shelf of a pond, defined, 10 
Shipping fish, 84, 106 
Sides of ponds, 12, 68, 98 
Silversides, culture of, 175 
Site of ponds for bass, 5; for 

trout, 93 
Smelt, culture of, 212 
Sorting of young fish, 67, 129, 

169 
Spawning of black bass, 30; 

of carp, 81; of cat-fish, 62; 

of goldfish, 263; of pike, 

204; of perch, 191; of trout, 

126 



Spermatozoa, 131, 134 
Stripping trout, 129, 132 
Sucker, culture of, 215 
Sun-fish, culture of, 49 



Tadpoles, development of, 232 ; 

habits of, 220, 228, 230 
Temperature in trout-culture, 

90, 108, 123 
Trout, brook, culture of, 86- 

173 



Water suitable for black bass, 
3, 10; for carp, 78; for 
brook-trout, 86 

Water beetles, 231 

Yearling trout, care of, 166 



NCV 8 1913 



